Cinderella
by horse-crazy girl13
Summary: Annabeth Chase was only a little girl when her mother died of cancer. When her dad remarried, she became stuck with a mean step-mom and 2 evil, annoying step-brothers. She wants to believe that the pain will go away and that life will get better but life's not a fairy tale, and she doesn't believe in happily ever after. Can the green-eyed boy next door convince her otherwise?
1. Shooting Star

**Hey peoples! This is my first fanfic so I'm sorry if it's bad. I'm really bored and I have a lot on my mind right now so I don't know if it's any good. But anywho, just read and review and please tell me whether I should just not do this or if you want me to continue. Sorry for OOCness and typos. Thanks! Happy reading!**

**Annabeth**

_"Annabeth, I love you so, so much," my mom whispered to me softly, weakly clutching my hand. My mom cried softly. _

_"It's okay, Mommy. Don't cry. I love you, too." I reached out and wiped her tears away. I didn't understand why she was crying._

_"Oh Annabeth, you don't understand, do you?" She looked at me with sad eyes. "Annie, Mommy is sick. Really sick."_

_I looked at her in confusion. "I know that, Mommy. But the doctors are gonna make you all better, right? When I get sick you just give me some Tylenol. I can ask Daddy to get us some."_

_She chuckled softly. "I'm afraid that won't work, sweetheart. I am too sick for that kind of medicine." She looked at me sadly before saying, "Annabeth, I won't be here much longer. I'm so sorry."_

_"What do you mean you won't be here much longer?"_

_She pointed to the windows of the hospital room. I looked over to where she was pointing. It was dark outside with a beautiful full moon._

_"Do you see those stars out there?"_

_I nodded. "They are so shiny and bright."_

_Mom smiled. "They're beautiful tonight, aren't they? Soon I will be up there with those stars."_

_My eyes widened. "You're gonna go to heaven?"_

_Mom nodded._

_"But you can't go! You can't leave me and Daddy! And you promised me that we could go to the zoo on my birthday and it's only in one week and I'm turning seven and-"_

_"Shhh..." Mom hugged me tightly. Tears ran down my cheeks. I finally understood that Mom was dying. She gently pulled away and I watched as she reached under her pillow and pulled out a small velvet covered box. She handed it to me._

_My little hands lifted the lid and inside was the most beautiful locket I had ever seen. It was in the shape of a heart. It was silver with a cross and a pink rose that wrapped around the cross. I opened it. Inside on the right, was a picture of my mom holding me. On the left, there was a picture of my mom, my dad, and me. I looked up at Mom._

_"This is for me?" I asked, looking at the locket in wonder. She smiled and nodded. She took the locket and gently placed it around my neck._

_"Now I will be with you forever. I will be in the stars and in your heart."_

_"I don't want you to leave me."_

_"I won't ever leave you. I will always be with you."_

_I nodded. "Did you say good-bye to Daddy?"_

_She nodded sadly. "Will you promise me something?_

_"Anything."_

_"Always remember who you are and don't let anyone else effect who you are. You will always be my little angel."_

_"I promise Mommy. I love you."_

_The thing next to her that had been beeping started to beep slower. Mom leaned back into the pillows and looked me in the eyes. Her grey eyes were so full of love as she said, "I love you, too."_

_Then she closed her eyes and the beeping stopped. She let out her final breath. The doctor came running in with my dad close behind. I started crying. I knew she was gone. Dad wrapped his arms around me and I looked out the window. And in that moment, time seemed to freeze as a bright shooting star shot clear across the night sky._

My eyes flew open at the sound of my door crashing open. My two-step brothers, Bobby and Mathew, came running in. I groaned.

"Annie, Mommy says she wants you downstairs right now to cook us breakfast," Bobby said.

"It's seven o'clock on a Saturday! Why can't she do it?"

The twins grinned like the little brats they are.

"She's busy," Mathew said. "Now hurry up! We're hungry and if you don't hurry up I'm gonna tell Mommy and you know what that means."

"Yeah, Mommy won't let you go to Thalia's house!" The twins cackled and ran out of the room. I groaned.

I got up and filled a cup of water in the bathroom sink. Then I looked at my reflection and raised my cup.

"Cheers to another day in this horrible prison," I mumbled to myself. "Just great."

**Okay, so that's the first chapter! Please review and tell me whether I should keep going or not. I was thinking about sort of having like another Cinderella story. Please review and tell me what you think! :)**


	2. Attitude

**Hey guys! Sorry about the last chapter being so short! Thank you to everyone who viewed, reviewed, or followed this story! I was shocked! I didn't think I'd even get 1 review! When I saw my first reviews, I literally walked around all day smiling! Anywho, pretty please with sugar and pistachios on top REVIEW! Um...actually, nevermind that's kind of gross. But enough of this author's note. Happy reading!**

**Annabeth**

I sat at the table while quietly eating. Bobby and Matthew sat at the other end of the table throwing pieces of scrambled egg at each other. I rolled my eyes.

"Ugh, guys, what was the point of me making breakfast if you're just gonna throw it at each other?" I snapped.

"Well, the first reason is because it'll aggravate you," Bobby said.

"And the second reason is because we know you're the one who's gonna have to clean it up!" Matthew finished for him.

"Besides, it's not like we aren't gonna eat it!" Bobby said.

I crossed my arms over my chest. "And how do you suppose you're going to eat it if it's all over the floor?"

"Like this!" they both laughed at once.

I watched as they both leaned down and started scraping their hands on the floor, scooping up some egg. Oh gods. Please don't tell me that they're about to do what I think they're gonna do. They stood up with their hands full of dirty eggs and right in front of me, shoved it in their mouths. I closed my eyes.

"EW! That's gross! Don't you know how many germs are on there? You guys could get sick." Not that I really cared.

"No we won't," they said at once. How do they do that?

"Well, you could after eating off the floor."

I glanced at them and frowned. They had this creepy look on their faces and a spark of mischievous in their eyes. Uh oh.

"Not if we do this."

And with that, they spit everything out onto the floor. I swallowed down the bile in my throat. They cackled evilly. Then they ran forward and 'accidently' pushed my plate onto the floor. The plate smashed into the floor and broke into a gijillion pieces and the food that was on it splattered everywhere.

"Oops!" they said, not so innocently.

I looked up and gave them my famous evil eye. Even they couldn't help but shrink back from it.

"You little freaks! One day I swear I'm gonna-"

"Annabeth! What in the name of Hades is going on in here?!"

I froze. Oh great. And Her Majesty of Annoyance (aka my step-mother, Sue) enters the room. Absolutely, positively just great.

I watched as Sue took in her surroundings. Her eyes widened and I saw her face go from confusion, to comprehension, to anger, and back to a blank, calm expression. Too calm.

"Boys, why don't you go call your friends, Conner and Travis, and see if you can hang out together?"

"Yay!" they both cheered. And started running out of the room. They stopped in the doorway and behind my Sue, so that she couldn't see them, they stuck their tongues out at me. I bit my tongue and resisted the urge to stick mine out at them, but I wasn't _that_ immature.

Instead, I smiled sweetly and gave them my deluxe _I'll kill you later_ look. That got their tongues back in their mouths quick enough. They ran off.

Sue glared at me. I looked back at her with a defiant expression. She wouldn't and couldn't scare me.

"What is the meaning of this?"

I started to speak, but she held her hand up and interrupted me before I even got a chance to speak.

"All I ask of you is to make a nice simple breakfast and you can't even do that without creating chaos. Why did you throw food at your brothers and break one of the plates that your father so graciously paid for?"

"I didn't-"

"Hush! Let me continue speaking! Breaking one plate my seem like a little thing to you, but that's a good seven dollars, maybe more, down the drain! Your father and I work very hard for every cent that we get."

"You don't-"

"SILENCE! I will not have you interrupting me and getting an attitude!"

"Ha. You're one to talk," I say before I could stop myself. I slapped my hand over my mouth.

She narrowed her eyes at me. "What did you just say, young lady?"

I straightened and held my head up high. No way was she going to intimidate me.

"I said 'Ha. You're one to talk.' _You _are the one that keeps interrupting me. _You_ are the one who's getting an attitude with me. _You_ are the one that won't let me explain myself. For you information, it was the twins who made this mess! _They_ were the ones who were throwing their food around. _They _were the ones that broke the plate! _They _were the ones who-"

"ENOUGH! You will never take that tone with me again!"

Then she turned and shouted,"Bobby! Matthew! Come here!"

"Yes, Mommy!"

She turned back to me. "Let's see if you were lying about the twins doing all that, since you're so anxious to blame them!"

I rolled my eyes when she wasn't looking. Wow. Did she really expect the twins to tell the truth? We all know that they're just going to try to save their own sorry butts.

The little devils came into the dining room. I noticed they had their sweet, innocent faces on.

"Mommy, Travis said that we could go over to their house."

"Okay, but first I need to talk to you."

"Why?"

"Well, Annabeth here says that you were the ones that made this mess and broke the plates."

"What? No we didn't!" Bobby yelled.

"Annabeth did all of it! It was scary, Mommy! She was mad at us because she had to make us breakfast, so she started throwing food at us! Then, when we tried to hide under the table, she took her plate and threw it at us. She missed, but it was so scary!"

Then the fake tears started. Oh gods. Absolutely pathetic. It was clearly an act. The boys ran into Sue's arms. She hugged them.

"It's okay, boys. I won't let Annabeth hurt you. Go on and get ready and I'll bring you to your friend's house."

They ran up the stairs and out of sight.

Sue turned on me with fire in her eyes. "How dare you accuse my sons of making this mess?"

"You don't seriously believe them, do you?" I asked incredulously.

"I have no reason not to believe them."

I was about to go on another rant, but I bit my lip to keep myself from digging myself deeper into the hole.

She stepped close to me, and before I could react, slapped me in the face. I stumbled back but didn't fall. It stung, but the shock that she would actually hit me numbed it.

"You will never try a stunt like that again. Blaming your brothers for something they didn't do is just unacceptable! You will definitely _not_ be going over to your friend's house today. You will _not _tell your father that I hit you. What you _will _do is clean this place up, then go to your room and _stay _there. Your dad is at work but you can be sure that when he gets home I will tell him what you did. Now, I will be gone for a few hours while I take the boys to their friend's house and run a few errands, but by the time I get back this room had better be spotless. And if it's not... then let's just say I could do worse things than slap you."

And with that, she walked away, called the boys, and left the house, slamming the door behind her.

I let my guard down, instantly. I hated being week in front of people, but since there's no one else I didn't really care.

I slammed my fist into the wall as I broke into tears. I just couldn't understand why Sue and the boys hated me so much. And I wasn't not even really close to Dad anymore, ever since he married that awful witch. He's always at work anyway.

I felt my cell phone ring and sighed as I took it out of my pocket. The screen read 'Thalia'. I picked it up the second I saw her name.

Thalia is the only friend I have and the only person who ever understands me. Her dad died a few years ago, and after her mom remarried, she was so angry at her mom. But she likes her step-dad, who is always kind to her and anyone else. We tell each other all of our secrets and feelings.

"Hey, Annie! Where are you?"

"Don't call me Annie! And I'm still in my prison. I can't come over today. I'm sorry."

"What? Why? Wait, have you been crying?"

I groaned. "I'll tell you everything later. I've gotta go."

"Wait!" she cried before I could hang up. "If you can't come to me, then I'll come to you. No exceptions!" she added before I could protest.

I knew there was no point in arguing with her so I just sighed in defeat and said,"Fine. I'll meet you half way. I need to get out of this house."

I could practically hear her grinning.

"Okay! I'm so happy we live in the same neighborhood!" she said.

"Yeah. Lucky me," I said sarcastically, before hanging up.

I walked out of the house and took a deep breath of fresh winter air.

I looked around and was surprised to see a moving van parked in the house next to mine. That house had been up for sale for months, and I didn't know anyone had finally bought it.

I ran out of my driveway and started jogging along the sidewalk, right past the house with the moving van, and ran towards Thalia's house. I was about half way there at our meeting spot. I looked up at the rising sun for about two seconds before I ran smack into a large figure. I fell down on my back, him landing on top of me. My head smacked the ground and I had just caught a glimpse of the most beautiful sea-green eyes I had ever seen before my vision started to blur and everything went black.

**Hahaha! Yay! Two chapters in one day! I'm awesome! Sorry for typos and OOCness. I know it was really boring and it seemed like this chapter dragged, but it's all leading up to the good parts. So who do you think Annabeth ran into? I'll go ahead and tell you. It was Abraham Lincoln! Ha, I'm so weird. No, it's not him but it's pretty easy to guess who she ran into, so I didn't really leave you with much of a cliffhanger. And thanks to everyone who has reviewed and liked me! Every review is like another Christmas present. Hmm...I think I'll go eat some pistachios. Also I take compliments, tips, and constructive criticism. Thanks again and REVIEW!**


	3. Lighten Up!

**150 VIEWS ON MY FIRST TO CHAPTERS?! Thank you thank you thank you! Thank you to every one who reviews, follows this story, etc. I had the best horseback riding lesson today! :D School starts again in a week. WAHHH! Feel free to look at my profile or PM me! Omg, I got a puppy and guess what his name is? Percy! No, I didn't name him. Anywho, enough of this author's note.  
Happy reading!**

**Annabeth**

When I woke up, I was still on the ground. So I guessed that I had only been knocked out a few minutes at the most.

Somewhere above me I heard two voices bickering.

"We really should call an ambulance! She could have a concussion or something!" said a guy's voice that I didn't recognize.

"No! It's only been like three minutes! If she doesn't wake up in ten minutes then we'll call them," argued a voice that I knew belonged to Thalia.

"Five," argued the other voice.

"Seven," Thalia compromised.

I forced my eyes open and took in my surroundings. The blue sky was above me and one my right, Thalia stood with her arms across her chest, glaring at a boy on my right. Thalia was giving him her _argue-with-me-again-and-see-what-happens-look. _I felt bad for the guy.

"Jeez Thals, are you trying to make him wet his pants in fright or something?" I teased.

She looked down. "Annie, you're awake! Thank goodness I didn't have to call an ambulance."

The guy asked,"Are you okay?"

All I said was,"Don't. Call. Me. Annie!"

Thalia chuckled. "Yup! She's fine!"

I glared at her. "Help me up."

"Oooh, somebody's feeling snappy," Thalia teased.

The guy held out his hand.

"Thank you," I said, taking his hand. "At least _somebody_ has good manners," I said glaring pointedly at Thalia.

I pulled myself up and gasped as pain seared across my head. The world swam in front of me and I stumbled. Right into the guy's chest. Nice.

He caught me. "Whoa. Are you sure you're okay?"

I nodded, and regretted it. Pain shot through my head.

I caught a glance of Thalia who was standing behind the guy and trying not to laugh.

_'What?'_ I mouthed.

'_Later' _she mouthed back.

"You should really see a doctor. You hit your head pretty hard," the boy said.

Thalia couldn't help herself. She burst into giggles.

"What is so funny?" I demanded.

She quickly made her face go blank. "Nothing," she said with fake innocence.

I rolled my eyes and turned the green-eyed boy. "I'm fine. I don't need to see a doctor."

Even as I said that, I could feel my head throbbing painfully. He stared at me and I could tell he didn't believe me but thank goodness he let it go.

"I've never seen you around before. Are you visiting family or something?" I asked him.

"No. I'm moving here. Into that house down the street. I was just taking a jog around to explore the neighborhood," he answered.

"Oh cool. I live in the house next to it," I told him.

"That's great! Now I have someone to show me around. I'm Percy," he said, sticking out his hand.

"Yeah, um, I'm Annabeth," I said shaking his hand.

Thalia cleared her throat. "And you've already met my friend, Thalia," I continued.

"Are you going to Goode High School?" Thalia asked.

"Yeah, I'm a sophomore," he answered.

"So are we!" Thalia said excitedly. Oh gosh. She had The Look on her face. She's up to something.

I looked at my watch. 9:30. Sue had left at about 8:45. I knew Sue probably wouldn't be back for another 2 to 3 hours, but I wasn't going to take the chance and I still had to clean up the house. Besides, I might as well stop Thalia from completely forming whatever scheme she has in mind. I could practically see the wheels turning in her head.

"Um, Thals, we've gotta go," I said, tapping my watch.

She looked disappointed. She turned to Percy and said,"Well, I hope to see you around. If you've got any questions, feel free to ask me or Annabeth."

I glared at her. Again. I figured out what she was trying to do and I did not like it.

Percy smiled. "Thanks. I might have to take you up on that offer sometime. Nice meeting you, Annabeth."

Oh gag. "Uh, yeah, nice meeting you."

He walked away, and I stomped up to Thalia and dragged her down the sidewalk by her hoodie. "What was all that about?!" I demanded, ignoring the growing pain in my head.

"What was what all about?" Thalia said with an innocent expression.

"You know exactly what you're talking about! Don't play the innocent card on me, Thalia Grace!"

"Oooh, you used my full name. Well now I'm terrified!" she said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

"Thalia!" I yelled at her.

"Ugh. Fine. You need to lighten up a bit! He's cute."

"Oh no. No way. I am not going to be caught up in one of your match making schemes!"

"Oh come on! Don't tell me that you don't think he's cute! Besides, it'd be good for you to have other friends besides me!"

"I do have other friends! I have you, Grover, Katie, Bianca, N-"

"That's not the point! You should get out there and try to be friendly to other people. And Percy is hot and a gentlemen."

"Okay, hold up. We talked to him for like what? Five minutes? And I'm just not interested in dating! That's the last thing on my mind right now."

"Ugh! Will you at least make an attempt to be nice to him, though?"

"Are you saying that I'm not a very nice person?"

"Well, you're not exactly a ray of sunshine around this time of year."

I looked down. I knew exactly what she was talking about. It was two weeks before my birthday. One week before the anniversary of my mother's death. I knew that I was always snappy around this time. And I usually withdrew myself from everyone except for Thalia.

We reached my house.

"Look, all I'm saying, is that you should try to open up to more people. I'm sure it's hard for him to move to a new place right before Christmas. And I get the feeling that he's having some problems at home," Thalia said, walking into the house.

"Stalker," I muttered, but I knew that Thalia was right. She always is. She has this uncanny ability to be able to look someone in the eyes and know their feelings. It's creepy. She had been the only one who was able to see past the fake smiles that I gave everyone. To know that I was in pain. And she could read just about anyone like a book.

I sighed. "Great. Now you have me curious about his life. Do you know how creepy that sounds?!"

Thalia laughed. She stopped short when she saw the mess.

"Jeez, what the heck happened here?"

"Those little brats are what happened." I told her about eveything that had happened earlier, including the slap.

"She did WHAT?!"

"Yeah, stinks right? Oh well, there's nothing I can really do about it."

"Annie, you should really tell someone!"

"Don't call me that!"

She looked at me as if she knew I was a hopeless case and just let the subject drop. She started going around the room and helping me clean up the place while we talked about the stupid math project our teacher, Mrs. Dodds, gave us. After the place was spotless, we talked for a little more, but then she had to leave so I just went to my room and sulked.

I sat down on my bed and took the locket that my mom gave me off. I opened it and just stared at the picture of what my family used to be. Images of me and my mom flashed through my still throbbing head, and even after so many years, the memories brought tears to my eyes. I wondered if there was anyone who would ever be able to truly help me get rid of the pain. And for some reason, the image of a set of stunning sea-green eyes passed through my brain right before I closed my eyes and fell into a deep dreamless sleep.

**Hey peoples! I'm sorry, I know this was probably my worst chapter yet. I already know where this story is going, it's just kinda hard to write it out. Sorry for OOCness and typos! And PLZ REVIEW! They really make me smile! Thanks!**


	4. Memories

**OMG! 700+ VIEWS! YAY! THANK YOU, thank you, thank you! :D I can't believe this! And thanks for all of the reviews and everything! But when school starts again, I might have to go to updating 2 or 3 times a week. Thanks again! All of your support means so much to me! Sorry for major OOCness and typos! Happy reading!**

**Percy**

As I walked away from the two girls, I couldn't get the image of the stunning (and scary) gray eyes out of my head. I could see that there was some sort of trapped emotion inside of them, but I couldn't figure out what.

Thalia was seemed pretty cool. She was pretty terrifying, but other than that, it seems like if you get on her good side, she's not so bad. I couldn't understand why she was so insistent about _not_ calling the ambulance, though. It's true that we didn't really end up having to, but still... there had to be some reason behind it.

I walked back to my new house, and walked inside to greet my mom, Sally Jackson. She was in the kitchen making cookies. Blue cookies.

"Hi Mom!"

"Hey, Percy" she said walking over and giving me a kiss on the cheek. "Did you have a nice walk? Do you like the neighborhood?"

"Uh, yeah, it was pretty good. I bumped in to two girls who are going to the same school as me. Literally. They're in the same grade, too."

"That's good. Are they cute?"

"Mom!"

"Just givin' you a hard time. What are you going to do for the rest of today?"

I shrugged. "I think I'll just go unload things from the truck."

"Okay then, while the cookies are baking, I'll help you unload."

We went out and started bringing more boxes into the house. After about half an hour, another van pulled up with more boxes and furniture. The truck driver asked my mom to sign a paper and I noticed her flinch when he stuck out the pen for her to take. I felt bad for her.

Before we moved here Mom's now ex-husband, Gabe Ugliano, had abused her a lot. She finally got up the nerve to get a divorce and we moved here to get a fresh start, plus there was a great writing school she could go to. She's always dreamed of being a writer but Gabe's always held her back. But Gabe has made her lose her trust in most men.

We finished unloading the van that we were originally unloading, and before we started the van that just arrived, we went inside to eat blue chocolate chip cookies. Now, most people might say that it's very unmanly for a teenage boy to eat his mother's blue chocolate chip cookies, but me my mom and I have been through a lot together and I would do absolutely anything to make her feel happy.

I grabbed a cookie off the tray and stuffed the whole thing in my mouth at once. I chewed and quickly swallowed before saying, "Mmm! Mom, those must be your best batch yet!"

Sally laughed. "You say that every time!"

"Then it must be true every time!" I said, popping another cookie into my mouth.

She laughed again. The sound was like music in my ears. Back when she was still married to that fat pig, I hardly ever saw her smile, much less laugh.

"So, Percy, how do you feel about starting at your new school on Monday?"

"Mom, I should really stay and help you unpack." I wasn't trying to get out of going to school. I really just wanted to help her.

"That's okay. I wasn't planning on doing much unpacking on Monday, anyway. I thought I'd go and turn in the rest of my papers for the writing school."

"If you're sure..."

"We can do some unpacking when you get home from school. Besides, you should go ahead and try to make some friends."

We finished eating and went out to unload some more things from the van. I was just about to carry in my fourth box when I heard a door open then close. I looked over to the house next to me and I saw the girl, Thalia I think was her name, walk out. She caught me staring at her and waved.

"Hi! Again," she said.

I nodded and waved. Then she starting running down the street. Wait, no. She wasn't running. She was _skipping_. Strange girl.

My mom chuckled. "Who was that?"

"Uh, some girl named Thalia. I met her when I was going around the neighborhood."

"Strange girl," Mom commented.

I burst out laughing. "You read my mind."

I brought the box in, and since it was labeled 'Percy' I brought it up to my room.

I opened the box and dumped everything out. There were some clothes and stuff, but at the bottom of the box was a photo album with pictures of me when I was very little. I hadn't looked through this thing in such a long time, I'd forgotten that I even had it. Mom must have packed it for me.

I opened it to the first page.

The very first picture was of my mom in the hospital after she had just had me. She held me in her arms, her eyes full of love.

After that, there were a few more pictures of just me and my mom in the hospital. When I turned to another page, my heart nearly stopped.

The picture was of me, my mom, and my dad. Not Gabe, but my real dad. My father had died a few years ago when he went out on his boat. A sudden storm hit him and he never came back.

Anyway, the picture showed me standing up for my first time. My parents looked so proud of me. Mom looked so full of happiness.

The next page had pictures of the first time my parents had ever brought me to the beach. My green eyes were sparkling in the sunlight as I looked at the huge mass of water with wonder.

The rest of the pictures were either with me and my parents at the beach, the lake, or pool. I used to love water and swimming. Until the ocean stole my father and ruined my life.

I shut the book closed and laid back on the floor. I stared up at the ceiling and wondered what my life would be like right now if dad was still here. Better than this, that's for sure.

I looked at the mirror that was attached to the wall and saw pain in my eyes. An image of stormy gray eyes flashed in my mind, and suddenly I figured out what had been trapped inside of them. Pain. So much sadness that keeps building up everyday. Annabeth had lost something important to her. No,some_one._ And I would know, because what I saw in her eyes is exactly what I see when I look in the mirror.

**Sorry for the shorter chapter and OOCness. I hope you liked it! But thanks again to everyone who's read this and liked it and everything! PLZ check out my profile! :) I wouldn't have kept writing this story if it wasn't for you guys encouraging me so just thank you so much! And even if you're a visitor to this site pretty plz review! :D**


	5. Keeping It Together

**YAY! 34 reviews and 1,200+ views! That's more than I thought I'd ever have! THANK YOU! I am giving a virtual hug to anyone who reads this! Um... that's a little weird... nevermind. But I wouldn't have kept going with this story if it weren't for you guys, so thanks so much! Sorry for OOCness and typos! Review!  
**

**Oh and I should've done this a long time ago. DISCLAIMER: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians!**

**HAPPY READING!**

* * *

**Annabeth**

I was in a really bad mood. Like a mess-with-me-or-I'll-kill-you-right-here-right-now kind of mood. It was 6:30 in the morning, on a Monday might I add, and I got exactly 27 minutes asleep, thanks to those two rodents in the room next to me.

Every time I was about to drift off to sleep, they knocked on the wall that separates my room from theirs. When I went in their to yell at them, Sue came in and yelled at _me_ for I don't even know!

And now, here I was early on a school day, trying to cover up the result of what happens when you make the twins mad.

I winced as I applied my almost never-used makeup to my face to cover up the huge bruise on my face. Bobby had 'accidentally' hit me with a baseball. Not a softball. A _baseball_. How do you _accidentally_ hit someone who wasn't even near you with a baseball? What the heck!

Of course, Sue did absolutely nothing. Oh wait, nevermind, I forgot she did. She yelled at me for trying to get some ice to put on it, because apparently there were only a few cubes left, and wanted to put the last cubes in a smoothie to add more _texture_. Seriously? I don't think she could've came up with a more lame excuse. We both know she just wanted to make my life miserable.

So now, the left side of my face was all swollen up, while the other side looked completely normal. Ugh!I kept my curly blonde hair down in an attempt to hide my face, but it didn't help much.

I made sure my locket was still secured around my neck, and tucked it inside my shirt. I don't let it sit on top of my shirt for the whole world to see. It may seem weird, but it just feels so personal. I just want my locket to be something that's just between me and my mom.

I went downstairs and made myself a quick breakfast, which consisted of toast and a glass of orange juice. I looked in the freezer and, go figure, there was still ice in there.

I grabbed my book bag and ran out to meet Thalia at her house, since we both walk to school. This neighborhood was so close to the school, that most of the people who lived in it just walked to school instead of riding the bus. Which was kind of ironic, because this is a pretty wealthy neighborhood. You'd think most of the people here would be too snobby to walk.

Thalia was just walking out of her house when I got there. She waved and met me at the end of her driveway.

"Hey, what's u-" her eyes widened as she took in the sight of my swollen face. "Whoa, what happened to you?"

"Well, good morning to you, too," I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes.

"No, seriously, what happened? And why are you wearing makeup?" she asked.

I rolled my eyes again. "I'll give you three guesses."

"The twins?"

"Got it in one," I told her, then fully explained what happened as we kept walking.

"Those little brats!" she exclaimed after I was finished.

"That's what I said! I don't even get why they are so mean to me. I mean it's not like I've ever really done anything to them. Sometimes I wonder if Sue puts them up to it and pays them in candy or something. But honestly, I kinda think that they just enjoy being little devils."

We walked in silence for a little bit, each of us wrapped up in our own thoughts.

"Only 5 more days," I whispered, breaking the silence.

Thalia sent me a quick glance before looking back down at the ground again.

"Yeah," she said quietly. "I've been thinking about that. How are you holding up?"

I sighed heavily before responding. "I'm holding. Just trying to keep myself together, you know? You'd think that after all these years, the pain would go away, but it just doesn't. But I can't afford to be weak. Especially at home. If Sue or the boys saw me like that, I'd never hear the end of it."

Thalia lifted her head up and her electric blue eyes stared into my gray ones.

"You don't always have to pretend. It's okay to be weak sometimes. Feeling pain doesn't mean that you're not strong. It just means that you have a heart. And what about your dad? Have you talked to him much lately?"

I let out a humorless laugh. "Ha, yeah right! He spends all of his time at work or with Sue and the boys. He doesn't have time for me anymore. He acts like he doesn't even remember Mom."

"Maybe it's just his way of trying to cope with the sadness," Thalia reasoned.

I glanced at her. "Since when did you become so smart?" I teased her as we walked into the school.

"Since I started hanging out with a certain brainiac," she said back, sticking her tongue out at me.

I love Thalia. She's so rude to just about everyone except for me, and even though she acts tough, she lets her soft side show now and then. And she always does whatever she can to make me feel better.

"Thalia? Thanks for being there for me."

"I'll _always_ be there for you, Annie," she said, ducking my arm as I reached out to hit her.

We walked into home room, and I saw that we were the first ones there. I looked up at the clock and saw that we were like 10 minutes early.

"Nice!" Thalia exclaimed, sitting in a desk at the front of the room. We don't have assigned seats, so it's first come, first served when it comes to the seating arrangements.

My home room and English teacher, Mr. Brunner, was sitting in his wheelchair over at his desk. He looked up from his papers when he heard Thalia.

"Hello girls. Good morning!" he smiled at us.

Personally, I think we are two of his favorite students. And he was definitely my favorite teacher. Since my dad never really has time for me, he's sort of like my father figure. He taught me in elementary school, then had me in seventh and eighth grade, and then got moved up to high school. It was weird that he seemed to change grades when I did, but I certainly wasn't complaining. He's the one adult that I've ever told what's happened at home.

"Good morning!" we chorused.

"And how are you this morning, Annabeth?" As simple as the question was, I knew it had more meaning to it.

"Um, fine I guess," I said, looking down.

"And may I ask what happened...?" he inquired, looking at my face.

"Hit by a baseball."

He nodded. He looked like he was about to say something else, but stopped when Nico di Angelo walked in. As always, he was wearing all black.

I sat down next to Thalia and whispered to her. "Hey Thals, look! It's your boyfriend." She swatted at me.

"He is not-" she started to protest, but she was interrupted.

"What's up, Pinecone Face?" Nico called.

"Nothin' much Emo Boy!" she called back.

"I am not Emo!" he protested.

I turned to Thalia and winked. "Uh huh. Sure..."

"Shut up, Annie!"

Nico came over to where we sat. "Am I missing something?"

"No!" Thalia practically yelled, blushing. Whoa, Thalia blushing? That's a first.

He eyed her and walked away.

"Haha! You scared him away! Nice, Thals!" I laughed.

"Oh, shut up!"

The rest of the class started coming in. My friends, Jason and Piper walked in, along with Silena and Hazel; then came Grover, Leo, and Frank. My other friend, Bianca di Angelo (Nico's sister), was in another home room, but her and Nico basically completed my friendship circle. But I was closest to Thalia and Hazel.

A few more people came in, and while I waited for the bell to ring, I doodled the design of a building on a piece of paper.

Then I felt someone tap my shoulder. It was Thalia.

"Now look who's boyfriend just walked in," she teased.

I looked up and, to my surprise, I saw Percy Jackson walk in.

* * *

**Okay, sorry if that was a bad ending. But anywho, my chapters are never going to be really long. I'll mostly have a bunch of shorter chapters with only a few longer ones. I'm sorry, but that's just how it is. But THANK YOU again to all the views and kind words! Sorry for OOCness and typos! THANKS and REVIEW! :D**


	6. Crazy Schemes and Soda Machines

**OMG! I love all of you sooo much! THANK YOU ALL FOR THE 46 REVIEWS and 1,600+ VIEWS! I wish you could see how much they make me smile. I'll add a lot of Percabeth later on in the story but it won't be pure fluff. I hate romance stuff. Haha, yeah, that's a little weird considering it's under the 'romance' genre... but I can deal with that later. ;) And in response to 'thestoryreader99's' question, I ride English! But sometimes when I go on trail rides, I ride Western. Anyway, sorry for OOCness!**

**Cute disclaimer I saw: I don't own Percy Jackson... Annabeth Chase does!**

**Happy Reading!**

* * *

**Percy**

When I walked into my homeroom class, I briefly scanned the faces in the room. They were all staring at me. _Well, this is kind of awkward,_ I thought. Then my eyes landed on the two people who weren't looking at me: Annabeth and Thalia.

Annabeth was doodling on a piece of paper, while Thalia was talking to her. As if Thalia could feel me staring at her, she looked up, and our eyes locked. Who face went from, confusion, to recognition, to a sort of delighted, evil look.

She turned to Annabeth, tapped her on the shoulder, and said something to her. She looked up. Our eyes locked, green on gray. I recognized the pain in her eyes, but before I could pull anymore out of them, she tore her gaze away. She turned to Thalia and started whispering furiously to her.

"May I help you?" asked a guy in a wheelchair. I guessed he was the teacher.

"Um, I'm new here," I answered uncertainly.

"Ah, yes, Perseus. I've been waiting for you."

Okay. I'm just going to pretend like that didn't sound creepy.

"It's Percy, sir. I don't go by my full name," I automatically corrected.

"Percy," he amended. "I am Mr. Brunner. Your books are over there on the counter. You can pick any open seat. I hope you enjoy this class."

I walked over and grabbed my books. There were only two empty desks in the whole room, one behind Thalia and one behind Annabeth. I sat in the desk behind Annabeth.

The bell rang, and Mr. Brunner said his good mornings to the class and introduced me. We were just about to start our first period English lesson, when a girl with bright red hair and freckles came in, I'll admit, she was pretty.

She came over and sat in the desk next to me, since it was the only empty seat. She had a haughty, ignorant aura that I didn't like. The way she held her head up high, made me think that she thinks she's better than everyone else.

When she saw me she froze and stared. "Well, who's this?" she asked into the silence.

Mr. Brunner wheeled over to her. "Nice of you to join us in class today, Miss Dare."

"Well, Daddy's driver was late picking me up this morning," she said, as if she didn't really care if she was late.

I noticed that half of the class rolled their eyes.

"Well, don't let it happen again," he said in a no-nonsense voice. "And this is our new student, Percy Jackson."

She stood up and held her hand out to me and said, "Nice to meet you. I'm Rachel Dare. If you need any help finding your way around or have any questions, feel free to ask me."

"Uh, thanks."

In front of me, I saw Thalia make a gagging motion with her hand.

Mr. Brunner cleared his throat. "Miss Dare, if you are finished, I would love to begin my lesson for today."

She sat back down with a huff.

"Now, class, today we will begin our lesson with a pop quiz, so clear your desk except for a pencil. Percy, since you are new, you will be exempt from this quiz."

The whole class groaned, while Annabeth squealed, "Yay!"

Mr. Brunner went around and passed out the quiz, while I just sat and stared around the room.

Most of the students, were working on their quiz, but I noticed Rachel was examining her fingernails. The room was pretty lively and colorful, with pictures from Greek, Roman, and Egyptian mythology on the walls. There was a corner in the back with a bunch of books, and Mr. Brunner's desk was in the front of the room.

It must have been a short quiz, because I noticed a few people were already done, including Thalia and Annabeth. Rachel hadn't even started, because she was now putting more lipstick on.

I saw, out of the corner of my eye, Thalia write something on a piece of paper and throw it to Annabeth. Annabeth caught it and gave her an irritated look.

I wasn't usually very nosy, but hey, I was curious, and I could see her desk clearly, so I looked at what it said.

_Hey, Annie!  
-T_

_Don't call me Annie! And I hate it when you pass me notes! What do you want?  
-A_

She passed it back to Thalia, who wrote something and passed it back.

_Oooh, snappy! Did you see the look on Miss Prissy's face when she saw Percy?  
-T_

Now they really have my interest.

_Ha ha, yeah. I wonder if he'll fall for Rachel? Rachel usually gets whatever guy she wants.  
-A_

They kept passing notes back and forth, while keeping a good eye on Mr. Brunner to be sure that he didn't catch them.

_No kidding! Whether he rejects her or not will say a ton about his personality.  
-T_

_True, but why do you care?  
-A_

_Idk. I don't like him, if that's what you're thinking.  
-T_

Annabeth looked up and looked Thalia in the eye. Thalia smirked.

_No way, Grace! I will not cooperate with your little scheme!  
-A_

What scheme? And what does her scheme have to do with me?

_We'll see about that... Mwah-ha-ha-ha!  
-T_

_You've got problems.  
-A_

But then they stopped there, because Mr. Brunner came around to pick up quizzes.

For the rest of class, Mr. Brunner just reviewed the differences between the Roman and Greek gods. I already knew this stuff; the school I was at before this had been ahead of this school. This class was preparing for a big test they had to take at the end of this week, which I had already taken because, again, my old school was ahead of this one.

The rest of my classes up to lunch went by fast, and none of the teachers really expected me to do anything since I was ahead.

At lunch, I went to the soda machine and was about to put my money in, when someone stepped in front of me. It was that Rachel girl.

"Uh...?"

"Here, let me pay for you," she said, taking out a dollar.

"No, I'm good. Thank you, though."

"No, I really want to pay for you! Think of it as a 'Welcome to Goode High' gift."

Just as she was about to put the money in, I said, "You know, I'm really not thirsty anymore. Thank you, though." And with that, I left her standing there, gaping after me.

I got a tray and put some food on it, then walked over to an empty seat. Before sitting down, I asked the person next to the seat, "Do you mind if I sit there?"

The guy turned around. I recognized him from my first class, but I didn't know his name.

"Of course you can! I don't own the seat or anything!"

I grinned and sat down.

"So you're the new student, Percy, right? I'm Grover."

"Yup! Nice to meet you."

"Right back at ya, man!" he said. "I saw you with Rachel. Was she giving you a hard time?"

"She kept trying to buy me a drink. I didn't let her."

"Nice going! Rachel is one of those popular girls who thinks she's everything. I wouldn't get mixed up with her crew."

"Thanks for the advice."

"Yo, G-man, what's up?" a kid in all black said, sitting on front of Grover.

"Nothin' much. You remember Percy from homeroom right? Percy this is Nico."

"Hey, man! Nice to meet you!" Nico said. He looked hyper.

"Nico, is it true Mrs. Dodds gave you detention?"

"Haha! Yup!" he said popping the 'p'.

"What for?" Grover asked.

"Well, she had a list of algebra equations written on the board, and I changed all of the subtraction signs to addition and vice versa. And for the multiplication signs I put division signs and vice versa. She wasn't in the room when I did it. So when she came back and told everyone to do the problems on the board and then asked for the answers, we all got them wrong. She had already written down all of the answers beforehand, so she couldn't figure out why everyone was getting them wrong. She figured out it was, eventually. HAHA! It was great! I wish you had been there, man!"

Grover snorted, and even I smiled a bit.

"NICO DI ANGELO!" a voice yelled.

Nico froze mid-laugh, then turned around. I turned around to see who had spoken.

A girl our age was storming up to us with her tray in her hand. She took and empty seat at our table, slamming her tray down.

"I heard you got detention _again_!"

"Calm down, sis! It's not a big deal!" Nico said, shrugging.

"Are you kidding?! Dad is going to _kill_ you!"

"Bianca, Dad won't even care! He's never cared," Nico grumbled.

"Hey, people what's up?" said Thalia. "Nico, I heard you got detention again."

Nico threw up his hands in exasperation. "How does everyone know about that?"

"News travels fast, Emo Boy!"

"I am not Emo!"

"Speak for yourself, Death Breath. Annie, are you coming?" she called.

"Don't. Call. Me. Annie!" Annabeth said, coming into view. She slammed her tray down and sat in front of me, next to Thalia. I jumped in surprise.

"Sorry," she said. "Oh, hi Percy," she added when she realized who I was.

"Hey," I said back. "Nice to see you. Again."

* * *

**Wow. Okay, so I had no idea how to end that chapter so the end really sucks. And I know it was a pretty boring chapter, but I promise it will get more exciting. Thanks again for all of the kind words. They mean so much to me. Sorry for OOCness. Even if you're a guest, pretty please REVIEW! Also, can you pray for my mom? (If you're Christian) She just got badly injured. :( Thanks and REVIEW!**


	7. Dare and Dances

**Wow! You guys sure know how to make a girl feel loved! I HAVE 82 REVIEWS! Thank you! Thank you to everyone who told me not to give up and who encouraged me! Without y'all, this story wouldn't still be on the website right now. A special thanks to the people who are giving me tips and ideas for this story:**

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**And also a special thanks to:**

**XxbethamphetaminexX  
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**for praying for my mom.**

**I love everyone who reads this and I'm gonna try to make this chapter longer just for all of you! REVIEW!**

**HAPPY READING!**

* * *

**Annabeth**

I was on my way to lunch, when Rachel and her stupid little 'followers' stepped in front of me. They looked me up and down and started laughing.

"Jeez Annabeth what did you _do _to your hair?"

"What is up with those shoes? They are like_ so _last year."

"What are you wearing? That shirt looks like a sheet with a hole in the middle for that big head of yours."

"OH MY GOSH, WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR FACE?!"

I gritted my teeth, willing myself not to say something I'd regret. Or punch them in the face.

"Don't you guys have something better to do? Like gossip about some stupid boy, or cry about a broken nail or something?" I asked.

"Oh, but see, we did come to gossip about a boy," a girl named Drew said.

"Yeah, we saw how you were looking at the new kid, Percy," Rachel said.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I said, taking deep breaths. I always had a short temper around this time of year.

"Oh please. Everyone could see it. But I didn't come to tell you that. I just wanted to tell you to stay away from him. He's totally hot and totally mine."

I rolled my eyes. She sounded like that Subway commercial, when the guy wanted a piece of the girl's sandwich and the girl was like,"It's totally good and totally mine!" Or something like that.

"Grow up. You're acting like a pathetic, lovesick twelve-year-old. But Percy's all yours. Just, good luck trying to get him. I don't understand why anyone would go for someone as childish and rude as you," I retorted.

I grasped my locket as I always did when I was upset or angry. I saw Rachel's eyes narrow when she saw the locket.

"Oh yeah, I forgot. This week is the anniversary of when your stupid mom died," Rachel sneered.

I felt anger rising within me, like a snake ready to strike.

"DON'T CALL MY MOM STUPID!" I yelled at her. Her 'friends' moved away, but Rachel kept on talking, as if I hadn't said anything.

"Of course, I bet you think you can win Percy over by telling him your oh-so-sad story, but nobody falls for that. We all know that you just fake being sad for attention. Your mom was a stupid and useless, so it's not like anyone even still notices that she's gone. And-"

I struck at her. I grabbed her wrists and slammed her into the wall, but not so hard that I hurt her. Just scared her. I leaned in and spoke in her ear.

"Listen here, Dare. You don't know _anything_! You can say all you want about me, but don't you ever say a thing about my mom. Just because my mom was more successful than yours when it came to architect, that does not give you the right to go around trashing my mother. In fact, that says more about you than it does about her. So BACK OFF!"

I felt a hand on my shoulder and tensed. Dang it. I wondered what punishment I would get.

"Annabeth," I relaxed when I recognized the voice. Thalia.

"Annabeth, come on. It's no use. She's a jerk. No one can change that."

I shoved Rachel one last time and she quickly walked away. I turned to Thalia.

"How long were you there?" I asked, hiding my locket under my shirt again.

"The whole time," she answered. "It was pretty amusing at first, but then I decided to jump in before you killed her or something."

"Gee, thanks," I said sarcastically. "Come on, let's get to lunch."

Thalia went first into the lunch line. She's got a huge appetite. I don't even know where all the food goes. No stomach could possibly hold as much food as she eats. Maybe it goes to her head. That would explain why it's so big. Haha, I'm so weird.

I grabbed a small tray of food and followed Thalia, who had already sat down.

"Annie, are you coming?"

"Don't. Call. Me. Annie!" I snapped.

I sat down next to Thalia, slamming my tray on the table. The person in front of me jumped.

"Sorry," I sad absent-mindedly. I looked up and realized who it was. "Oh hi, Percy."

"Hey," he said back. "Nice to see you. Again."

I smiled. "How do you like it here so far?" I asked, trying to be nice.

"The people here are nice. Some are kinda weird..."

"Yup! And you won't get used to it either," I said.

"Oh, um... ok, I guess," he said uncertainly.

And that was pretty much it for that conversation.

I didn't eat any of my food. I just picked at it.

I looked up when I heard an excited squeal. It was my friend, Silena.

"What's up Silena?" Thalia asked.

"Well, you know how lets out in 3 weeks for Christmas break? There's going to be a dance here a week before we get let out. On Friday next week. So..." she trailed off and looked at me.

Oh no.

"I thought we should all go to celebrate Annie's birthday!" she finished.

"That's a great idea!" Thalia said.

"I'm in if you are, Nico," said Grover.

"You bet I am G-man!" Nico said.

"Don't call me Annie!" was all I said.

They all stared at me.

"Come on, Annabeth! You haven't let anyone celebrate your birthday since... well, for a while," Thalia whined.

"No," I said, shaking my head. "I'm going to be a mess. You know I always am."

Everyone was silent. Percy was looking back and forth between us with a confused expression.

"Did I miss something?" he inquired. Nobody answered him.

"Annabeth, please?" Thalia asked.

I was silent for a minute. My friends were being so nice, and they were trying so hard to make me happy. I sighed.

"Fine," I gave in. Silena squealed again and everyone else smiled.

"Yay! You won't regret it!" Silena said. "Oh, I forgot to mention that you have to wear some sort of costume."

"And this is where I start regretting my decision," I muttered. Grover and Nico cracked up.

"Haha! Imagine Annabeth dressed up as Santa's elf!" Grover hooted.

"Or Mrs. Claus!" Nico snorted.

"Do you want me come?" I snapped.

Their smiles were wiped off their faces. They nodded.

"Then shut your mouths or I'll shut them for you."

"Y-yes ma'am!" they both stuttered. Now me and Thalia cracked up.

"Okay, so Thalia, Annabeth, Bianca, Piper, and Hazel (I'll have to ask them) will come to my house the night of the dance and we'll have a huge makeover!" Silena finished, clearly excited.

I supressed a groan.

"Yay," I said weakly.

Then Thalia got a light in her eyes. She turned to Percy.

"Percy, you should come, too."

We both choked on our food. "What?" we chorused.

Everyone looked at me weirdly. I blushed self-consciously.

"No, I mean, I don't have anything against him, it's just... he's new here. It would be kinda awkward for him," I said, trying to justify my reaction. But the truth was that I knew exactly what Thalia was trying to do, and I didn't like it one bit.

I noticed Percy staring intently at me. Ugh.

Then he said,"Annabeth's right. I won't know anyone."

"You know us! You could come over to my house with Nico, Jason, and Frank. You could meet some new people at the dance, too," Grover reasoned.

"I'll think about it. And I'd have to ask my mom..."

"No problem, man! You've got plenty of time! Just let us know, whenever you find out."

The bell rang and we all headed to our next class. And from there on, the rest of the day sped by in one blur, and before I knew it, I was home.

When I walked up to my room, there was a note pinned to my door. It read:

_Annabeth,_

_This house is a mess. I want it completely cleaned up by the time I get home. I'll be picking up the boys and taking them out for dinner. Just find something from the fridge to eat. Your dad won't be home until midnight. And be sure this house is spotless by the time I get home._

_Sue_

Wow. That was a bright letter! So full of love! Just the thing I needed to cheer me up. Not.

I sighed and went around, cleaning the place up.

When I was finished, I went to find something in the fridge to eat. Here's what I found:

1) Moldy cheese

2) Spoiled milk

3) Year-old chicken

Lovely. I slammed the fridge shut. I did all those chores and my reward was skipping dinner. I felt so loved. Note the sarcasm.

I went upstairs and laid on my bed. I thought about my mom. I thought about dad, and how he used to be. I thought of my friends and my life before this whole mess. And I cried. I opened my locket, and stared at the face of my beautiful mother. She was my everything. And now she is gone. Sobs racked my body and I cried for my old life. Was that so much to ask for? I just wanted a fairytale.

~_Flashback~_

_"I'm home!" Dad called, walking into the house._

_"Daddy!" I squealed, running into his arms._

_"Hey, sweetheart! How's my little girl?"_

_"School was fun! I made a 100 on my spelling test!"_

_"Good job! I'm so proud of you!" he said, giving me a huge bear hug._

_"Mommy, Daddy's home!" I yelled._

_"Coming!" She came down and greeted her husband warmly._

_"Daddy, did you get the movie?"_

_"Hold on, let me check my bag._"

_He dug through it._

_"Hmmm... it's not here. I must have forgotten to get it," he said._

_My face fell and my smile faded._

_"You promised!" I said reproachfully._

_Then he pulled something out of his jacket._

_"What's this?" he asked._

_I snatched the thing away and looked at the cover. Cinderella. My face lit up. _

_"Daddy, it's the movie! How did it get in your pocket if you didn't buy it?"_

_"It must be magic!" he exclaimed, winking at me._

_"Can we watch it, Daddy? Please! Pretty please!" I begged._

_"With sugar on top?" he asked._

_"Pretty please with sugar on top?" I amended._

_"You bet we can watch it!" _

_"YAY!"_

_And with that he tossed me upside down onto his shoulders and carried me to the couch, with me squealing the whole time. I could hear my mom laughing. It sounded beautiful, like wind chimes._

_He got some popcorn and we watched the movie. It got interrupted by and popcorn fight, and later on a pillow fight._

_I was angered by the way Cinderella's step-mom and sisters treated her._

_My eyes were wide open the whole time. I wouldn't stop asking questions._

_"Why are they so mean to her?"_

_"Why are they locking her up?"_

_"How is the Prince going to figure out that it's Cinderella?"_

_My questions were stopped when Dad started tickling me. I laughed uncontrollably._

_"Be quiet, Daddy! It's the ending!"_

_And I watched as Cinderella married the Prince, and got to live happily ever after._

_~End of Flashback~_

But fairytales aren't real, I reminded myself. And neither is happily ever after.

* * *

**How was that? Good? Bad? REVIEW! And thanks again everyone, sooooo much! It meant so much to me that you guys wanted me to keep going! And thanks for 3,000+ views! You guys have no idea how amazing you are! I don't care how weird it is, but I'm giving each and every one of you a virtual hug! THANK YOU AND REVIEW!**


	8. Strange

**Hey guys. Wow, just when I thought my life couldn't get any worse, it did. Oh well, I'm not gonna put any of my problems on you guys. Thanks for all of your support and ideas. And most of all-THANK YOU FOR 113+ REVIEWS! AHHH! Thank you for sticking with me when I didn't even believe in myself! THANK YOU AND REVIEW!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians!**

**HAPPY READING!**

* * *

**Percy**

I walked home, thinking about my first day at school. It was... strange. Mostly the people. Rachel acted like some lovesick puppy, and she's clearly the popular girl. Grover was nice enough, but is apparently addicted to enchiladas (seriously, who gets addicted to enchiladas?). Nico has a creepy obsession with death. One of the first things Mr. Brunner said to me was,"I've been waiting for you." Thalia passes notes in class about a scheme that has to do with me. And then there's Annabeth.

Annabeth is a... confusing person. She'd seem angry at one moment, sad the next, and then just plain normal. But I noticed that she would force herself to act normal.

And the way those gray eyes seem to pierce you. It's like you could lie to her, and she'd instantly be able to figure out that you were lying to her.

And why did she react so strongly when Thalia invited me to go with everyone to the dance? I mean, I'm not a big fan of dances anyway but still... it was a little rude. it's as if she knows something that I don't.

She seemed to be able to change personalities in a matter of seconds, which I'll admit is kinda scary.

But one thing about her stayed the same. Seemed to stay absolutely constant. And that was the emotion in her eyes. I may sound pretty girly and emotional, but after being with my mom and learning to read her, I can sort of pick up on people's emotions pretty quickly.

But I could see the pain in her eyes. I was almost certain that she had lost someone. I was kinda curious, too. I wanted to know what happened.

I walked into my house, and saw a note left on the door.

_Percy,_

_I will be home at about 4:30. If you get hungry, I put some snacks in the pantry, and there's some drinks in the fridge. Help yourself! I'm bringing pizza home for dinner, so don't eat too much!_

_Love, Mom_

I walked to the pantry and grabbed a bag of chips. I took the 2 liter bottle of cream soda **(AN: That's my favorite kind!)** and chugged it right out of the bottle **(AN: my brother does that ALL the time)**. If Mom could see me right now, she'd probably kill me. Oh well... what she doesn't know won't hurt her.

The teachers didn't assign me any homework since it was my first day and since I was ahead of everybody anyway. So I decided that I'd go watch TV. I really should probably be doing some more unpacking, but the cable came by earlier and hooked up our TV and stuff, so I couldn't resist.

I walked into the living room and sunk into the soft leather couch. I turned on the TV. I flicked through the channels. I kept finding stupid kid shows.

Barney. No.

Elmo's World. Definitely not.

Super Why? What the freak is that?

Sesame Street. Oh _heck_ no!

NCIS. Perfect! **(Yet another AN: I love NCIS! Ziva and Abby rock!)**

I watched like two episodes. It was great. Poor McGee, always getting teased by Tony.

Soon, it was 4:30 and I smelled pizza. I followed my nose to the kitchen where Mom was.

"Hey, Mom!"

"Hey Percy, how was your first day at school?" she asked, walking over and kissing me on the cheek.

"Oh, um... strange?" I responded.

She laughed. "Come on, let's eat some pizza and you can tell me all about it!"

We grabbed a plate of pizza. Mom got 2 pieces. I got 6. She looked over at my heaping plate and laughed again.

We sat down on the couch in the living room.

"So tell me about your day at school," she said.

"Well, my home room teacher, Mr. Brunner, is a little odd but otherwise he's very nice. None of the teachers expected me to do much, and I'm ahead of everyone. I sat with some nice but weird kids at lunch. They're pretty funny."

She listened intently as I talked about how my day had gone. I felt weird. Like a 6th grader on their first day of school, telling their parents how it had gone. I felt like such a little kid. But I didn't mind too much. I guess I really am Mommy's little boy.

"Oh and they asked me if I wanted to go to some costume dance next Friday. Grover said I could hang out with them and meet some new people."

Mom smirked. "You're not really the kind of guy who likes to go to dances," she commented.

"I know, but they were being very nice about it." Except for Annabeth, but I wasn't going to tell my mom that.

"Well, you should go! It would be a great chance to make some more friends!"

My mom told me that she gets to start a writing seminar in two weeks and that she's really excited about it. I felt so happy for her. She finally gets to follow her dream, and it's been such a long time since I've seen her excited about something. We talked a little longer.

Then I went to my room and took a long shower. I did a little unpacking, stopping occasionally to look at some stuff that I had forgotten I had.

I went back downstairs and watched TV for a little bit, and when it was around 10:45, I figured I should probably get some Z's since I had school tomorrow. I said good night to my mom and climbed in my bed.

I was about to drift off to sleep when suddenly I heard an ear-splitting scream.

And it was coming from next door.

* * *

**I'm sorry that it was such a short, boring, and rushed chapter. I said good-bye to my sister a few minutes ago. She's moving away. :( And I need to hurry up and get to the good parts! The dance probably won't be in the next chapter, but maybe the one after it? I don't know. We'll see. Sorry it took me so long to update. School has been keeping me sooooo busy. I had 2 tests today and 3 more next week. Ugh! Well, thanks again for 113+ REVIEWS! Thank you! REVIEW and you'll get another chapter! **

**Oh and PLEASE check out my new story 'Letting Go'. They're demigods in that one. So yeah... CHECK IT OUT! And just thought that I'd put out there that Letting Go is really sad so don't expect sunshine and rainbows.**


	9. Drunk

**HEY PEOPLES! Sorry, I just had a TON of soda so I'm really hyper! And I have 134 reviews! Yay! Thanks a ton! And actually, I know you've all been waiting for the dance but I'ma make y'all wait a few more chapters. Mwahaha! I'm so mean! But don't forget, the anniversary of Annabeth's parent's death and well... I can't tell you when cuz it'll ruin it! Also, sorry for the long author's notes but I'm a very talkative person! ;)**

**HAPPY READING!**

* * *

**Annabeth**

I must have fallen asleep, because I woke up. Duh. But when I woke up, Sue was standing above me with a murderous look on her face. Oh great. Well, this was gonna be a fun conversation.

"Hi?" I tried.

Oops. Wrong thing to say. She bent down and grabbed me by my hair. I gasped, but refused to scream.

"You idiot! All I ask of you is to have the house cleaned by the time I get home and you can't do that?" she said ferociously. Ugh. She reminded me of an angry wolf.

"I did!" I protested.

"No you didn't! After I took the boys to dinner, I dropped them off, and then went to the store. And I got home a few minutes ago to find this place a MESS!"

Great. I must have been asleep when she dropped the boys off. And what do you wanna bet that they trashed the house so that I'd get in trouble? I'd bet everything.

"But I really did! It was 'spotless' after I was finished!" I said angrily.

"Don't you smart alec me, Annabeth!" she said dangerously.

"But-"

Before I even knew what had happened I was slammed into my wall. I still didn't scream. I wasn't going to show any sign of weakness. Not in front of Sue.

"You remember what I earlier? That I could do more than just slap you? I wasn't kidding, so you had better watch it," she said stepping closer to me.

And that's when I got a whiff of it. Wait, it just couldn't be. But I knew it _had _to be. Alcohol.

"Y-you been at a bar h-haven't you?" I stuttered. I simply couldn't believe it. "You never went to the store! You went to a bar!" I accused.

She narrowed her eyes at me. "You are pretty smart aren't you? You figured that out quickly. And you will tell absolutely no one."

"And if I do?" I challenged.

She pulled out a knife. I allowed my eyes to widen. She wouldn't really do that, would she?

"You're drunk. You're not thinking clearly," I said, trying to make my voice sound calm.

"Oh, I'm thinking clearly enough to know that I HATE you," she snarled.

Awww! She's such a sweet, loving person. I felt like singing my version of the Barney song:

"I hate you! You hate me! We're a hateful family, with a great big slap and a kick from me to you. Won't you say you hate me too!" Sadly, I restrained myself from actually singing it.

"The feeling's mutual," I grumbled instead.

"What did you just say to me, young lady?"

"I said, 'The feeling's mutual!" I said loudly and slowly, as if I was talking to a partially deaf person.

That was probably not the best thing to say to someone who has always hated you, is drunk, and has a knife in her hand, but I was fed up with her. Nonetheless, I paid for that comment.

She slapped her hand across my face. Hard. Then, she grabbed my hair and slammed my head into the wall. Really hard. I heard a sickening crack, and the room started spinning. I was fighting to stay consious. I knew she was trying to get me to be weak and scream or cry, but all I did was grit my teeth.

"Hmm... you're a tough one," she muttered.

The pain was increasing and I felt tears coming into my eyes. She noticed.

"Awww, is little Annie going to cwy?" she cooed.

I glared at her. She cackled. Jeez, what's with my family and cackling? It's creepy!

I glared some more.

"Why are you doing this to me?" I asked.

"I thought we established that it's because I HATE you?" she spat.

There goes the Barney song in my head again: "I hate you! You hate me..."

"I can just tell Dad what you're doing," I threatened. "Or the police."

"Not if I do this."

Before I could react, she grabbed my wrist and bent my hand all the back. Unfortunately, I wasn't one of those people who were very flexible. It cracked. I couldn't keep it in this time. I screamed. I let my pain pour into the scream. It hurt sooooo badly!

Sue cackled yet again. "See, if you tell anyone what I do, you will have to pay the price. Oh, and I forgot to mention something. If you scream, you also have to pay," she said.

Then, she raised her knife...

* * *

**HAHA! Usually I'm no good at cliffhangers, but I'm on a roll! I know this was a short chapter and pretty boring, but oh well. Now you know what the scream Percy heard was. Have any of you ever read the book 'The Giver'? I have to read it for school. It's actually pretty good! And thanks again for all the reviews and kind words! And I feel pretty bad about the short chapter so I'll make it up to you next time! And I'll only be able to update on the weekends and maybe once during the school week. And I know this chapter didn't have any Percabeth but get over it. :) Review! Even if you're a guest! THANK YOU! :D**


	10. Anniversary: part 1

**Hiiiii! 182 REVIEWS?! NO WAY! Thanks so much guys! And to 'Guest': No, I'm not mad at you! It's all good. You weren't the only one who thought that. We're all a little insensitive sometimes, and I can be very blunt sometimes. And to 'Sky': Thanks for the suggestion. I don't normally put the ANs in the middle of the story and I'm not planning on doing it again! I was doing the last 2 chapters when my friend was over and she kept telling me to put the Barney song in there. Lol! Me and my friends are weird/lame. Anywho, I'm not too sure where I'm going with this chapter but it won't be the dance... yet! And I'm so sorry for taking so long to update! I feel really bad but the teachers have loaded me with work! And sorry about major OOCnes in this chapter! But she's going through tough times. What do you expect! I'll shut up now!**

**Review! Happy Reading!**

* * *

**Annabeth**

I watched wide-eyed as she raised the knife, a million thoughts going through my head. I mean, she wouldn't _actually_ do this would she?

Then she stabbed the knife. Into the wall. A centimeter from me.

I let out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding.

"I let you off the hook this time. Next time... you won't be so lucky," Sue said, taking the knife out of the wall and walking out of the room.

I started crying. I just couldn't believe this! I ran over to my cabinets and pulled out a notebook. I started writing furiously, as if my life depended on it. Which, maybe it did.

_Why? Why me? I don't understand! What happened to the life I used to have? Why does Sue hate me so much? Why is Dad never there for me anymore?_

_I have so many questions but so little answers! Wow, that sounded so cliché. But I don't get it!_

_What's happening to me? I just want to cry! I want to run away! But where would I go to? I have no one!_

_Why did Mom have to leave me? That just wasn't fair! Yeah, yeah, I know she couldn't help it, but that doesn't take away the pain! My family is so broken._

_I want to meet someone. Someone who has to deal with pain like I do. Someone who will understand me. Someone who will listen._

_Thalia is like that, but I want something more. It's hard to explain. I feel like the person I need is right there in front of me, but I'm too blind to see who it is. _

_I want someone who will hold me in their arms and let me get everything out. Someone will hold the pieces together when I can't. Someone who won't judge me because I'm not as strong as I appear to be. And someone who can see right through me when no one else can._

_I long for that fairytale. I long for peace and happiness and a way out._

_I feel like some cartoon. Like my feet, are moving as fast as they can, but I'm just not getting anywhere! (Ew, that sounded really lame, too)_

_All I know, is that if I don't get out of here soon, I won't last much longer._

I slammed my notebook shut. Even I had to admit, writing in that notebook was a little childish, but I didn't really care. It was either that, or screaming those words at Sue while attempting to strangle her. That actually sounded like fun.

I sat down on my bed. Tomorrow's Tuesday and it wouldn't be long until it was Friday. The anniversary of my mother's death. I felt a wave of pain wash over me again.

I held my locket gently in my hands. It was hard to believe that a couple of years ago, Mom had held this very same locket in her hands. That she had handed it to me and hung it around my neck. It made me feel like there was a part of her still with me. And maybe there was. She'd promised me that she would never truly leave me.

I just sat there, until my eyes closed, and I finally drifted off to a deep, dreamless sleep.

* * *

The rest of the week flew by, to my dismay. Every single day Thalia and Silena would pester me about dance. They were sooooo annoying! My friends Hazel and Piper told us that they could also come, so they were all just waiting on me.

Percy became part of our group. He mostly hung out with Nico, Grover, Jason, Leo, and Frank. I never really talked to him, though Thalia always tried to get us to talk to each other. And our conversations would always end with me saying something pessimistic and him going into an awkward silence until one of the boys took pity on him and saved him.

Rachel mostly stayed away from me, but when we did see each other, she'd sneer and give me a look that clearly said,"You'll pay me for that stunt you pulled the other day." But she didn't scare. She never could, never will.

Sue was worse than ever. She would hit me once or twice a day for something stupid, but thank goodness she never pulled the knife on me. I don't think she's been to the bar again.

I still never got to see Dad. He was always at work. He never had time for me. What's new? I didn't even think he cared about me anymore.

And then, it was Friday.

When I woke up, a sense of dread filled me. I just wanted to stay locked up in my room or the rest of the day. I forced myself to get out of bed and get ready for the day. I wasn't really sure if anyone could actually _be_ ready for a day like this.

When I saw my reflection in the mirror, I could immediately tell that makeup wouldn't help. My face was red and tear streaked from crying all night, and my eyes were puffy and red.

I quickly washed my hair and teeth, and walked back into my room. I looked at the picture of me, my mom, and Dad that was sitting on my bedside table.

I shoved my face into my pillow to muffle the sobs. I felt this overwhelming sense of hopelessness rise within me.

_Come on, Chase! You're tougher than this! Pull yourself together_, I scolded myself.

I grabbed my book bag, took a deep breath, and walked out of the house.

Thalia wasn't there. I took out my phone and tried texting her, but she never answered. I was hurt. She was always there for me on a day like this.

I kept crying as I walked, hoping that the tears would run out before I made it to the school. No such luck.

I was one of the first ones at the school. I walked in and went straight t Mr. Brunner's room. I tried no slam a lid on the tears, but they just kept escaping.

I walked in quietly and picked a seat in the very back corner of the room. Mr. Brunner looked up.

"Annabeth." His voice was full of gentleness.

He came over to me and tilted my chin so that I'd have to look him in the eyes.

I reached over and hugged my father figure. I didn't care how weird it was that I was hugging my teacher.

And he just comforted me for a little bit and then I sat in the shadows and waited for my friends to come in. But they didn't. I was so confused.

"I'm going to get my books out of my locker and see if I can find my friends," I whispered hoarsely.

He nodded, his eyes full of sadness. He knew my mom too, seeing as he had been my teacher a year before my mom had died.

I walked out slowly into the now crowded halls.

I stopped in my tracks when I got to my locker.

NO WAY!

* * *

**Boring chapter and not much of a cliffy, sorry! I'm pretty devastated because my mom got rid of my puppy. :.( But sorry about it being so boring and rushed in some places. Also to 'Sky': I have no idea what Super Why is! As I said, I wrote the last 2 chapters when my friend was over and she put some ideas in. I just updated 'Letting Go'. Please check it out and tell me what ya think! I read The Giver in 4 hours and LOVED it! I usually hate the books that teachers assign us to read but this one was great! And I decided to try the Kane Chronicles. I like it... it's just really confusing in some places. And I'm not a huge fan of Egyptian mythology, but it's okay I guess. Thanks! REVIEW!**

**Random question: Do you support Lazel or Frazel? 'Cause at my school, it's half and half so I'm just kinda curious about what other people think.**


	11. Anniversary: part 2

**Hey guys! So the reason some of your computers wouldn't let you review the last chapter was because I erased the author's note (ch. 7) so chapter 10 became chapter 9. Then when I posted the last chapter, it became chapter 10 but it said you already reviewed it because you reviewed chapter 9 which was originally chapter 10. Does that make sense? No? Oh... well, I tried. And I'm at 195 REVIEWS! AHHHHHH! Could we make it 200? PLEEAASE?! Love y'all!**

**HAPPY READING!**

* * *

**Annabeth**

NO WAY!

Standing in front of me was Thalia, Juniper, Hazel, Piper, Silena, Jason, Frank, Grover, and Nico.

They all stood around my locker. My locker was covered in pictures of me and my friends. There were also some pictures of my old life. Mom and Dad and everything!

There was also a small decorated poster taped to the middle of the locker. It had a note and I could see my friends had signed it. In a daze, I walked forward and gently took it down to read it.

_Annie,_

_I love you so much! You're like a sister to me. You always will be. I know that it hurts, but we wanted to do this for you so that you can remember that you're not alone. You'll always have us. And we wouldn't be the same without you. Please come to the dance. We want to see you have some fun. You deserve it! We already talked to your dad and he said yes. We know it's hard but we just wanna help. You're the best! I love you. We all do!_

_Love y__our absolute favorite friend,_

_Thalia_

Silence. I ticked off the seconds in my head. One, two, three...

And then at once, everyone converged and we all shared a big group hug. I was crying but right now I didn't care.

"Thank you, guys. This means so much to me," I whispered.

I touched the picture of me and my mom at the beach.

"I forgot I even had this picture," I said softly.

Thalia wrapped her arms around me. I sent her a wobbly smile. It's rare to see her get sentimental.

Then a loud, obnoxious voice sounded behind me.

"We all know she's just doing it to get attention! Take my advice and don't fall for it. Her mom was an idiot."

Three guesses who that was. Rachel.

A wave of anger surged through me. Thalia grabbed my wrist to keep me from doing anything rash and all my friends formed a protective circle around me.

When Rachel saw the slightest hint of fear in Rachel's eyes before she put her innocent mask on.

"What were you saying, Rachel?" Nico said venomously.

Even she sort of cringed.

"I-I, uh, was j-just..."

"Well, spit it out! You wanted everyone to hear you so bad and now everyone is listening!"

And it was true. The whole hall had become silent. Everyone was watching in anticipation.

Rachel noticed this too. She held her head up high.

"I was saying that we all know Annabeth is just trying to get attention! That's all she ever does, because she knows that no one loves her. I mean, her dad is always at work and her step-mother told me that she hates Annabeth. It's not like anyone likes her."

"Um, NEWSFLASH! We obviously like her. We love her! She's a way better person that you will _ever _be!" Thalia snarled.

"I don't know why you're all falling for this! It's absolutely pathetic! Her mom was stupid! She couldn't design a building to save her life! My mom was way better! We all know it."

I ripped my hand out of Thalia's grip and ran forward, slamming her against the wall. Again. I looked her straight in the eyes.

"What happened to you? What happened to my best friend?" I whispered.

She opened her mouth to respond but I swung my hand back and slapped her in the face. Very hard.

Tears started to fall down her face.

"Did that hurt?" I said quietly.

She shook her head no.

I slapped her on the other side of her face.

"Did that hurt?" I repeated.

"Yes," she said quietly.

"What was that? You're gonna have to speak up," I commanded.

"Yes," she said a little louder.

"What? I'm still having trouble."

"YES," she screamed.

I smiled with satisfaction.

"Good. But that's not even a millionth of that pain I feel at home. So the next time you make an assumption like that, you make sure you remember how much that slap in the face hurt," I said, letting go of her.

"ANNABETH CHASE!" I saw Mr. Brunner and the principal coming towards me. Shiz.

Thalia came up behind me.

"Annabeth go! I'll make something up, okay? Just go! Rachel is one of the most powerful students in this school because of her mom and dad. They'll listen to her story. But they won't even give you a chance to say a word. Leave now."

I looked at my friends. "Thank you. Thanks so much."

And then I ran.

I didn't look back until I got to the door.

When I did glance back, Mr. Brunner was staring at me. But it wasn't full of anger. It was concern.

Thalia and my friends were blocking the principal's way.

And then I ran out. Now, I know that you might say it's very unlike me to skip school but there was no way I was gonna stay.

I didn't run home. Sue might be there. Or maybe even dad and I really didn't feel like answering a bunch of questions.

I ran towards the cemetary.

It didn't take very long. It's not far away.

I ran in and walked through the rows and rows of tombstones. Then I turned and walked to where I knew Mom's grave was. I was kind of surprised to see a boy at the grave next to me because most people would be in school by now, but I just ignored him. I knelt down and touched the grave.

"Oh Mom. I'm so sorry," I whispered to her. "I broke my promise to you. I promised you that I would always be me, and that I wouldn't ever let anyone change who I am. But now I don't even know who I am. And I let Rachel get to me. I'm sorry."

The wind swirled around me, picking up my hair and caressing my face.

I closed my eyes.

When I opened them, I received a shock. The boy next to me had put his hood down and now I could see his face. He had messy, black hair and his eyes were sea green.

"Percy?"

He jumped and looked at me.

"Annabeth?" he asked.

"What are you doing here?" we asked in unison.

"You first," we chorused.

I took a deep breath.

"My mom died when I was little, and this is the anniversary of her death. Now it's your turn."

He hesitated.

"My little sister died a few years ago."

I blinked. "But why is she buried here? I thought you just moved here."

"I guess I never mentioned that I lived here when I was little."

Silence.

"What was her name," I asked softly.

He gestured to the tombstone. I looked at it.

Rosa Lee Jackson.

* * *

**Hmm... sucky chapter but oh well. Interesting... most people seemed to go with Frazel. Although, quite a few people went with Lazel. A couple of people said Leyna. I'm a Lazel shipper myself. It may be a little weird for Hazel and Leo to date each other, but I think their personalities really balance each other out. Hazel can be quiet and somewhat depressing while Leo can be really hyper and cheerful. Huh, I'm quiet (sometimes), depressing, hyper, and cheerful (sometimes). Reviews are BEYOND loved! Thanks!**

**Random question: Who do you think is going to stay behind in Tartarus and/or die in the next two books of HoO? Leo, Hazel, Frank, Nico, or Percy and Annabeth together?**

**Thanks and REVIEW! (Even if you're a guest!)**


	12. Stories

**AHHHHHH! Okay I think I'm calm now... AHH! Or I guess not. Wow! 210 reviews! Okay so I know that other stories have more and that it might not seem that great, but I never even imagined I'd get 10! Thank you all sooooo much! I literally started jumping up and down and squealing like a complete psycho! THANK YOU, thank you, thank you, thank you! Plus, I got 60 favs, 112 followers, and 9,004+ views for this story! And I got over 1,000 views in one day! Thanks! So, to thank y'all, I'm going to tell you when Percy and Annabeth kiss! It's going to be... wait, I can't tell you that! It'll ruin the story! I'm so mean. ;) But thanks! I hope you enjoy this chapter! You deserve it!**

**BEYOND HAPPY READING!**

* * *

**Annabeth**

Rosa Lee Jackson. I couldn't believe it.

Now I feel like some of the pieces of the puzzle had been put together. I finally understood the pain in his eyes. I finally understood that his acting happy had just been an act. A mask to cover up what he really felt.

I could feel Percy studying me. Analyzing my reaction.

"I-I don't know what to say," I whispered.

"Then don't say anything."

We stood in silence.

"We should really get to school," he said after a while.

"I just came from there. I, uh, punched Rachel in the face and ran out."

"I'm not even going to ask," he said, a slight smile on his face.

"Thanks, but I really can't go back there today."

"What about your dad? Won't he be worried?" he asked.

My face darkened. "Dad won't even know. And he won't care either."

He studied me some more.

"I'll stay with you," he said, taking me by surprise.

"W-what? No, you don't have to! I don't want you getting in trouble because of me!" I protested.

"Too bad. I'm staying."

I groaned.

We sat down.

"So what happened to your sister?" I asked. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," I added quickly.

He was silent for a moment.

"We used to live here, as you already know. My sister was an angel. I loved her. I called her Rose or Rosie. She was the best older sister you could have. She always took me to the park, always played with me. When she got older, she started to change. She still loved me, but that light that she would always have in her eyes was gone. She acted like she was okay, but I would hear her crying late in the night, but I'd never tell my mom. Then one day we came home and... and she had stabbed herself. She killed herself. She left a note saying that she was being bullied at school and she just couldn't take it anymore."

He looked down. I could see his tears falling.

I didn't even think about what I was doing. I just did it.

I reached out and put my hand in his, squeezing it gently.

"And I've always blamed myself. I've always thought, What if I had just told my mom that she was crying in the night? What if we could have made her feel better? What if we could have stopped her?"

"Hey," I said softly. "You can't think like that! She's in a happier place now. And I know she'd want you to be happy."

He looked up at me.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled. "You're right. And I'm not making your day any better. Here you are, on the anniversary of your mother's death, and I'm sitting here complaining about my problems."

"No, it's okay. You needed to get that out," I told him.

"Why didn't you ever tell me about your mom?" he asked.

I shrugged. "It's not something I usually go around telling people. 'Hey, guess what? My mom's dead! Now I'm a moody girl with social problems! Wanna be my friend?'"

We sat in silence for a little bit.

"So what was your mom like?" he asked. Creeper.

I thought for a minute.

"My mom was an angel. She always knew what to do to cheer me up. She was the person who would always look for the best in people, instead of pointing out the bad things about them. She was the kind of person who didn't want to be the best out of everyone; she just wanted to be the best she could be. She used have this saying:

Good, better, best  
Never let it rest,  
until your good is better,  
and your better is your best.

"Almost everyone liked Mom. She never judged someone after the first two seconds of knowing them. And she was the best architect ever. She could make the most abstract designs. Her buildings were always beautiful, the structures flawless.

"She had my curls and gray eyes. People used to tell me that I had her smile but no one says that anymore. I guess that's because I never smile.

"When she had cancer, it was hard to see the light in those gray eyes disappear. And to watch those curls fall out. I was little. I hadn't understood that she was going to die. I just knew that she was sick. And now she's gone."

Then I choked up. I put a hand on my mouth to keep it all in. I felt his hand reach up and move my hand away from my mouth.

He looked at me with those beautiful green eyes and, to my surprise, wrapped his arms around me. I didn't move away. It just felt so _right._

I cried into his shirt and he didn't seem to mind at all.

I felt warmth spread through me, though. Finally, it seemed like I felt content. I knew that I finally had someone who really understood me. And someone who listened and cared about me.

I relaxed and my tears dried. I sat up.

"Thank you," I said. "This means everything to me."

He just smiled warmly.

For the rest of the day, we sat there, telling each other stories and growing closer.

When we walked back to the neighborhood, he looked truly disappointed to leave me.

"Hey, maybe we could hang out sometime this weekend," he suggested.

As if Sue would let me.

"Um, yeah, maybe," I said.

Then, as if I hadn't had enough surprises today, he leaned down and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek.

I blushed furiously. He winked and then walked into his house.

Thankfully, Sue wasn't home, so I just walked right into my room in a daze.

I sat down on my bed and touched my cheek.

Maybe happily ever after _isn't_ so impossible, I thought, drifting off into a deep dreamless sleep.

* * *

**Ugh, what a terrible chapter! Oh well, I wrote this in math class (shhh! Don't tell!), so what do you expect? :P So I know that in the previous chapter I said that Rosa Lee was his little sister, but let's all be nice and pretend that I said he was his big sister. ;) Also, I'm really sorry that it's such a short chapter! I finally got rid of my writer's block and I have an excellent idea as to what's going to happen in the next chapters! So the dance might have to be put off for a few chapters. Also, I will be putting Percy's POV in sometime soon. Sorry about not updating 'Letting Go' like I said I would, but I'll try to do that today! Seriously, you guys are amazing! THANKS AGAIN and REVIEW! **

**Random question: Do you guys like or dislike Jason and Piper?**


	13. Father Daughter

**If I've said it once, I've said it a million times: I LOVE YOU GUYS! Thanks for all the support! It puts a smile on my face every time I see a review or that someone favorited me or followed this story, etc. To 'Tabasaga': I totally agree. I too have been feeling like I'm not doing so great anymore and that she is getting OOC, but I'm just going to keep going. I'm not going to give up; this is my escape. And this is going to be a pretty boring chapter but I don't want to make Annabeth's dad seem like a total creep.**

**Other responses:**

**i heart sea spawn: Awww! Thank you so much! What a creative review! :D**

**Hoorayforcheese: Some of you guys are going to kill me for saying this, but I have not read twilight. What's the character's name in that book that you said was like Rosa Lee? Like, how's it spelled?**

**greekchic8: I've actually considered doing that. Thanks for the idea!**

**Brandidly: Thank you! And FINALLY someone who doesn't like Jason and Piper! They're cute but highly annoying to me. It just makes me mad that Piper can't see why Jason acts distracted sometimes and why people think that Percy is better than Jason. And Jason always has to be Mr. Perfect and can't see why people like Percy more than him. Jason is perfect but Percy is perfectly IMPERFECT. Sorry for babbling. That's just my opinion.**

**MashPotatoeSquishBanana: Thanks! I totally agree about the Jasper thing.**

**I know I've probably offended half of you by not responding to your reviews but I don't have much time! Just know that I love each and every one of your reviews! Maybe someday, I'll have a chapter just dedicated to the reviews! **

**HAPPY READING!**

* * *

**Annabeth**

I awoke at the sound of my name.

"Annabeth?" someone knocked on the door softly.

"Come in," I whispered sleepily.

The figure walked in a and sat on the edge of my bed.

"Dad?"

"Yes, sweetheart. How are you?" he asked me.

I glanced at my alarm clock. One o'clock in the morning.

"Fine, but Dad, it's 1 am! What are you doing here?"

In the dim light coming from the doorway, I saw him hang his head.

"Oh, Annabeth, I'm so sorry," he whispered.

"For what?"

"I've been such a terrible father lately. I've just been staying at work as late as I can and leaving for it early in the morning. I haven't even seen my daughter lately. I haven't asked you about school, or what you've been doing, or that I love you."

I felt tears spring to my eyes.

"It's oka-"

"No, don't say it's okay. It's not. I should be there. And I should have been there on your mom's anniversary. I didn't forget about it. But every year it's just so hard. I know that's not an excuse," he added quickly.

I sat up.

"Dad? It's been years since Mom died. So how come you're closing yourself off so much this year? It's never been this bad before," I pointed out.

He sighed.

"I don't know. Maybe it's having a new wife. I always feel a little guilty, as if I'm replacing your mom."

"Mom would want you to be happy. I know she would," I told him.

"I know but-"

"Do you love Sue, Dad?" I asked.

"Yes."

"Then don't feel guilty. It's okay."

"What do _you_ think of her?" he asked.

I hesitated. "If you love her, then I'm happy."

_Happy when I get out of the house, _I added in my head.

He squeezed my hand slightly.

"Thanks. That means a lot to me."

We sat in silence for a little bit.

"I got a call about what happened in school today," he said, breaking th silence. He didn't sound angry.

I didn't respond.

"I was worried at first, but Thalia told me what happened and where she knew you probably went," he continued.

More silence.

"I talked to your teacher and your principal. They were shocked that you would slap someone. Of course, you can probably imagine how angry Rachel's parents were. I convinced them that you were just upset, and with a little coaxing on my behalf, they let you off the hook. Mostly. Rachel is also being punished, so both of you will be cleaning the art room. Apparently it's a mess."

"Thanks. But we have to do it together?" I asked.

Dad smiled slightly and nodded.

"But Dad! Me and her won't last 2 seconds in the same room together! We'll end up ripping each other apart!"

"You're on your own, there. I've done has much as I can to keep you from having to go to in school suspension or worse."

I sighed. "Thanks."

"What did you do all day?" he asked.

"I just hung out at the cemetary. A ,um, friend has a sister who died. We just sort of talked a little bit."

"I'm sorry I wasn't there for you. Did this friend happen to be a boy?" he asked.

I felt heat rush to my face.

"Dad!"

"I'll take that as a yes," he said, looking amused. "Just remember-"

"Dad, I don't like him! We just happened to be there at the same time!"

He smiled. Then I saw his gaze drift to the picture of me, him, and Mom.

"I'm glad we got to talk," he said.

"Me too. I've missed you, Daddy."

He looked at me. "I thought you had gotten too old to call me that."

"Well, this is an exception," I told him.

He laughed. Then I thought of something.

"Dad? There's a costume dance next week on Friday. Thalia and the gang have been begging me to come. Can I go?"

"A costume dance? That's not really your type of thing." He chuckled. "I can't imagine you dressed up as Mrs. Claus! Or Santa's elf!"

I slapped him on the shoulder.

"Dad! That's exactly what Grover and Nico said! My own dad is beginning to think like Nico and Grover! What has this world come to?" I teased.

He laughed. It was nice to hear him laugh.

"Annabeth, I want to try to spend more time together," he said abruptly.

Silence.

"Dad, that would be great, but don't feel like you have to."

"But I _do_ have to. I'm your father. We could go out to that weird place with the mouse mascot or something."

"Chuck E. Cheese?" I laughed.

"Yeah, that place."

"Dad that's for little kids!"

"Oh, come on! It'll be fun! Just like old times!" he insisted.

I sighed. "Jeez, you are _such_ a little kid sometimes!"

He laughed.

Then he leaned over and gave me a huge hug. It was filled with warmth and comfort and love. I leaned into the embrace.

"I love you, sweetie."

"I love you too, Dad," murmured back.

And not for the first time that day, I cried. But this time, they weren't filled with sadness; they were filled with joy.

* * *

**I know, I know. Short, sucky chapter. But I'll be updating again either later tonight, or tomorrow! Also, check out my stories 'Starting Over'. I know I shouldn't keep starting new stories, but I can't help myself! And thanks again for all the wonderful reviews! I got 27 just in the last chapter! :O And this chapter was a little hard for me to write, because I don't have a dad so it's hard to portray the emotions of a father/daughter relationship. Sorry about that! But THANK YOU and REVIEW! (Even if you're a guest!)**

**Oh, and my best friend, puppy-crazygurl13, posted her first story ever. Could you please check it out? And be nice, it's her first one! Thanks! I love you guys! REVIEW!**


	14. Of Make-Up Work and Pillow Fights

**THANK YOU GUYS FOR 254 REVIEWS! That is absolutely amazing! I just got the third book of the Kane Chronicles and I can't wait to read it! I'll do a few review responses for some chapters of this story. Anywho, I hope you like this chapter! REVIEW!**

**Review responses:**

**alilrose: Thank you, but I'm actually adopted. I have no idea who my real parents are. We haven't been able to find them. It makes me sad sometimes, but I have a wonderful adoptive mom and family. :)**

**Hoorayforcheese: Oh, okay. I see. :)**

**Jennnnnie: What an amazing idea! I will do the first half of that! But I can't do the part with Percy taking her to the dance because... well, I can't tell you that! It would ruin the story.**

**Happy Reading!**

* * *

**Percy**

I watched as Annabeth walked into the house. I couldn't believe what had happened today.

I finally knew what she had lost, and I could sense that we had created a bond today at the graveyard. She knew my secret, and I knew hers.

I walked into my house.

"Hi, Percy!" I heard my mom say.

"Hey, Mom," I called back. I walked into the kitchen.

She looked up when I walked in and smiled. I waved and grabbed a soda out of the fridge and then leaned against the island.

I sank back into my thoughts.

I was pretty surprised at myself for telling Annabeth, an odd girl that I don't really talk to, about my sister. She's the only here who I've told. And I never really talk about it with my mom.

I found it kinda ironic that the first time I've really truly enjoyed myself since I moved here was at a graveyard. But I'm happy I spent time with Annabeth today. I had this feeling that on the outside, she tried to make herself look tough, but on the inside, she could be a very enjoyable person.

She was interesting. Now, don't get me wrong. I don't like _like _her, but she was definitely someone I really wanted to get to know.

"You okay?" I heard my mom ask, pulling me out of my thoughts. She was staring at me.

"Yeah. Why do you ask?"

"You seem quiet today," she commented.

"Haven't you been wanting me to shut up since the day I first talked," I joked, rolling my eyes.

She smiled.

"Yes, but I never expected it would happen," she teased back. "But seriously, what's on your mind today?"

"I skipped school today and-"

"Percy!" Mom started sternly. "You-"

I held up my hand. "Let me explain!"

So I told her what had happened today. I told her about me visiting Rosie's grave and Annabeth coming up. I told her about me telling Annabeth what happened. And I told her about how we talked and bonded.

After I finished, Mom was smiling slightly.

"Do you like her?" Mom asked.

"Yeah, she's very nice once you get to know her," I said stupidly.

"No, I mean do you _like _her?"

I felt the heat rush to my face.

"N-no! I don't like her like _that!_" I sputtered.

Mom looked amused.

"Okay," she said raising her hands. "Just asking!"

"Well, would you mind _not _'just asking' again, please?" I said.

Mom laughed.

I walked up to my room.

From the window in my room, I could see the window of Annabeth's room.

Then a thought struck me. I flashed back quickly to the night I heard someone screaming. I knew it was Annabeth. Then, fast-forward to the day after that.

_~Short Flashback~_

_I walked to my locker, and planned to confront Annabeth and ask her about the scream._

_When I saw her, she was with Thalia and Hazel. She was laughing at something one of them had said._

_Her face was lit up with laughter, and I shrugged to myself. She seemed perfectly fine. I figured that maybe she had been watching a horror movie or something. She was happy, well as happy as Annabeth can be, for the rest of the day._

_~End of Short Flashback~_

For the rest of the week, excluding today, she had seemed okay. But now, I realized something.

While she is naturally pretty, the face that I had seen all week, except today, had seemed enhanced. I hadn't really noticed before, but I realized she was wearing makeup. Not much, but the point is: Annabeth doesn't wear makeup without a reason. Even I knew that.

She must have been trying to hide something with the makeup.

I started thinking. Yeah, I know. Me, Percy Jackson, thinking? It's a miracle.

Anywho, it occurred to me that someone may have hit her. But I don't know who.

It wouldn't be her dad. Annabeth kept telling me today how her dad was never around.

Maybe her step-mom? I don't know.

I'm probably all wrong about this.

She probably got hit in the face by something and just wanted to cover it up. Of course, it being a Friday, and me being a guy, it wasn't long before I drifted off to sleep.

* * *

The next day, I was on my iPod Touch and playing _Temple Run 2._ I kept jumping right off the cliff, because I couldn't see the stupid turns! Then, I jumped straight into the spinning spiky thing in the ground. The poor guy got shredded up. Oops.

Then I heard the doorbell ring.

"I'll get it!" my mom called, sounding confused. Who would be visiting us right now?

"Okay."

I kept playing on my iPod. I vaguely heard Mom open the door and start talking to someone.

I was just about to beat my high score, when I heard my name somewhere close to me.

"Percy."

I jumped at the voice that was definitely not my mom's, and my character in the game died. Again.

"Oh, come on! I was just about to beat my high score!" I whined.

I looked up. It was Annabeth.

"A-annabeth? W-what are you doing h-here?" I stuttered.

She looked quite amused. "Helping your sorry butt," she replied. "Unless you want me to leave."

"No!" I exclaimed.

She raised her eyebrows at me. Then I realized how that sounded.

"Nevermind! Wait, no, it's not that I want you to stay. I mean, I want you to stay, but I don't_ want _you to stay. Like, I-" I stopped, completely flustered. I realized she had just been toying with me.

She smirked.

"Hey, that's mean!" I complained.

"Oh, cry me a river," she said sarcastically.

"So what are you here for?" I demanded.

"Oh, that's nice. For your information, Thalia came over to my house earlier to give me the notes and work I missed for school, so I decided I would pass them on to you. Your mom thought that was a great idea, and told me to come right on up. Nice lady," she commented.

I groaned. Of all the people in the world I could live next to, I ended up living next door to Annabeth Chase. I had a feeling that anytime I missed school, she would be at my door, handing me make-up work. Yipee.

"Here," she said, handing me a different folder for each class.

I opened the first folder. Algebra. As soon as I saw all those numbers and letters, they started switching themselves around. Stupid dyslexia.

"Can't I just copy off of yours?" I complained.

She held her head up high, as if she were somehow superior over me.

"You most certainly may not," she said firmly.

I groaned again, and looked hopelessly at the math sheet. She studied me.

"You want some help?" she asked.

I nodded.

So for the next hour we worked on algebra. Fun. Actually, it wasn't _that _bad. Annabeth was a natural when it came to math and teaching it.

After a while, my ADHD started to kick in.

"Percy," she scolded for the 4th time. "Pay attention. What's the answer?"

"Um, 152 mi. squared, minus 18 mi. squared equals 21,916 plus _X. X=_864. That was easy. We did that in like middle school."

The next problem was way harder, but with Annabeth's guidance, I figured it out.

"Have you ever considered being a teacher?" I asked her.

She seemed surprised by the question.

"Never. I've always wanted to be an architect, though. What about you? What do you want to do once we graduate?"

I shrugged. It was something I tried not to think about.

She grabbed a pillow and hit me with hit.

"What was that for?" I exclaimed.

She shook her head. "You are _such _a Seaweed Brain!"

"Seaweed Brain?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Yes. From what I gather, you seem to like the water a lot, based on all the pictures of you at the beach," she said gesturing to the pictures taped to the wall,"and your head is obviously full of kelp."

I grabbed another pillow and smacked her with it.

"Hey!" she squealed.

Then she quickly retaliated. And the war began. We ran around the room, chasing and hitting each other with pillows. Yeah, it was childish, but that made it all the more fun! It was nice to see her open up, and it was funny to hear her squeal. Annabeth wasn't really the squealing type. She put up a good fight, but in the end, I grabbed her from behind and tossed her over my shoulder like a rag doll.

"Percy, put me down!" she yelled.

"Nope!"

She happily managed to kick me in the face. I dropped her. Nice.

But luckily she fell onto the bed.

"Percy!" she tried to hit me but I grabbed her arms, pushed her back onto the bed, and pinned her down, with her arms above her head.

She glared at me, blowing her bangs out of her eyes.

I grinned triumphantly. "I win!" I proclaimed.

Then her face started to turn red.

"Annabeth?"

Then I too realized the position we were in. I felt my face heat up.

She playfully shoved me off of her and went back to the work. After a few more minutes of silent working, I said, "Annabeth?"

"Mmm?"

"I've been meaning to ask you something."

"Okay...?"

I took a deep breath. "I know it's not my business, but what was that scream I heard coming from your house at the beginning of this week?"

Immediately, I could see the change in her. Her face hardened, and she slipped that mask back on. Her muscles tensed.

She closed the folder shut.

"I think that's enough work for today. I enjoyed spending time with you, Percy. Thanks."

And then she walked out.

Whoa. Now I definitely knew that she was hiding something that she didn't want anyone to know.

But now that I could see how the real Annabeth could be, I was determined to get her back.

* * *

**So how was that? I really enjoyed writing this chapter! It was quite fun to write. Sorry about OOCness. Please also check out my other new story 'Starting Over'. And please check out puppy-crazygurl13's story. It's her first story and she's my best friend. On her profile, she makes it sound like she doesn't speak English or something, but she is American with great English! ;) Thank you guys so much! I don't know what I'd do without you! I hope you liked this chapter! REVIEW! (Even if you're a guest! I love everyone's opinion!)**


	15. Best Friends and Tricycle Rides

**So here's the next chapter! I hope you like it! And lol, I was surprised a how many people liked my one-shot 'Percy Jackson Totally OWNS One Direction'. Can you believe I'm on chapter 15? It's gone by pretty fast. Things at home are getting a little better. :) And to Mykklaw: Lol! I completely agree! I have too many ideas and it gets on my nerves! I've already thought of another story but I'm not posting it until I finish one of my other ones! Love you guys! REVIEW!**

**Happy Reading!**

* * *

**Annabeth**

Ugh. How could I have let myself be so stupid! I let my guard down for like what? Five minutes? And then I get asked the one question I can't answer. And that was so aggravating.

And what's even more aggravating, was that part of me wanted to turn back around and tell Percy. Because now, a part of me trusted him. We aren't so different after all.

And I also felt like we bonded yesterday at the graveyard. And it felt so _right _being with him.

And not to mention that I had the most fun with him today, than I've had since Dad married Sue.

But I knew I couldn't turn around, and I definitely couldn't tell anybody about what Sue did to me.

"Annabeth!" a voice called behind me. I rolled my eyes. Oh come on!

I turned around and Thalia was running towards me.

"What?" I called.

She stopped in front of me, panting.

"Did you just come from Percy's house?" she asked between pants, her eyes sparkling.

"Yes, I did."

She looked surprised. "Wow, I expected you to deny it or something."

"Thalia! You make me sound like some liar who can't be trusted."

She laughed. "So what were you doing there?"

I glared at her. "I was just giving him some make-up work and notes. Then he needed help with his algebra, so I stayed behind and helped him."

She stared at me. "Seriously?! That's all you guys did? You guys are absolutely hopeless and no fun!"

"What did you expect us to be doing? Making out or something?"

"Well, I hoped!" she said, sounding exasperated.

"THALIA!"

"What?" she said innocently.

"I hate you."

"I know!" she said happily. "Is Sue home?"

"Nope! She won't be home all weekend! And Dad's home!"

"Yay! That's great Annie!"

I glared at her. "Don't call me Annie!"

"Sure, Annie!" she laughed.

She ducked my arm and walked right into my house.

"I'M HOOOOOMMME!" she called. I rolled my eyes. Only Thalia would walk into someone's house without permission and yell that.

I walked in and closed the door.

"Let me guess," I heard my dad say. "Thalia just walked in."

"You got it!" I called back. He walked into the room and smiled at us. It was so nice to see him smile.

"Yo, Dad, what's up?" Thalia said, walking over and flinging her arm around my dad's shoulders. She doesn't call my dad Mr. Chase. She calls him Dad. Kinda creepy, actually.

"Hello, Thalia! I have been quite good. And how have you been?" he asked Thalia.

"I've been GREAT!" she yelled. We all jumped back. I eyed her nervously. She was acting kinda scary. Oh wait, I forgot. Thalia _always _acts scary.

"Annie has a new crush!" Thalia announced.

"WHAT?!" Dad and I yelled in unison.

She nodded her head like an excited little kid.

"No I don't!" I glared at her. The I turned to Dad, "I don't like anybody! Don't believe her!"

Dad looked amused. He turned to Thalia. "Who does she like?" he asked her.

"Well it's obvious, isn't it? She likes Percy."

"THALIA GRACE! I do NOT like him!" I said furiously, glaring daggers at my friend.

"Oh come on! Just admit it, Annie!" Thalia said.

"I'm not going to admit anything in front of my dad!" I protested.

"Oh, so are you saying you _do _like him?" she asked tauntingly.

"What? No!" I said, flustered.

"Yes, you totally are! Annie likes Percy! Annie likes Percy! ANNIE LIKES PERCY!" she chanted in a sing-song voice.

"WILL YOU SHUT UP?" I yelled.

"ANNIE LIKES PERCY!"

Oh, what the heck? If it makes her shut up then, "Fine! I like him!"

Silence. One, two, three...

"YAY!" Thalia squealed.

Oh gosh. Thalia squealing? Not. Good.

"As a friend," I added pointedly.

Thalia pouted.

"But Annnniiiiieeee!" she whined.

"Thaaaalllliiiiaaaaa!" I mocked her.

"I like him as a friend and that's that!" I said firmly and walked into the kitchen.

"Dad, are there any cookies left?" I called behind me.

"Yeah, they're on the counter," he said walking in with Thalia.

"Yay! Cookies!" Thalia said like a little kid at snack time.

Wow, I hadn't seen this side of Thalia for a while. It also made me feel a little guilty. The only reason I don't see her like this very often is because she's always trying to make me feel better and make me happy.

Now, I'm happy, and she's trying to make me feel like I need to strangle her. See? We balance each other out.

"Oh no, Grace! I think you've already had enough sugar!" I said sternly.

"No I haven't! All I've had today is a brownie, some ice cream, a Snickers bar, a piece of gum, and some cream soda!" she protested.

"So, in other words, you've had more than enough," I said.

"Yup! Now give me a cookie!" she demanded. I laughed and handed her one. We really haven't had so much fun in a while because of Mom's anniversary. Thalia calls the weeks before Mom's anniversary the Dark Days.

We leaned against the island, eating our cookies.

"Thalia, me and Annabeth were planning on going to Chuck E. Cheese's tomorrow. Would you like to come?" Dad asked her.

I thought that was a great idea. I hadn't thought to ask her. It would be just like old times, when Thalia was struggling with things at home, and she would practically live with us. We would always go out and act like little kids.

One time, Dad took us to the mall, and we found this bicycle place. While Dad was in the bathroom, we took two little tricycles out into the aisle, and rode them around the whole mall. We went through a Build-A-Bear, McDonald's, Claire's, Barnes and Noble, and about 20 other places. At the end, we had like 6 security guards, a guy dressed as Ronald McDonald, a little kid who wanted to ride the tricycles, and an angry parent chasing after us.

All in all, a pretty good time. We were so immature. Actually, we still can be immature. I like to responsible and in charge when it comes to school and academics, but outside with Thalia, things get pretty childish.

"Yes! I'd love to come! I'd have to ask my parents, but I'm pretty sure they'll say yes!"

"Oh gosh. Thalia+Chuck E. Cheese= disaster!" I teased.

"Oh, if that's how you want to be then, Annie+Percy= LOVE!" Thalia teased, sticking her tongue out.

I rolled my eyes and groaned. "What did I ever do to deserve such crazy friends?"

"You met me!" Thalia said.

"Yeah. Great," I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm. She laughed.

Thalia looked at the time. "I gotta go guys! Sorry! I'll see ya tomorrow! Bye Dad! Bye Annie!"

"Don't call me Annie!" I called after her.

I smiled at my dad and walked up to my room. Looking out my window, I could see the bright blue sky and the sun shining.

Had my happily ever after finally come?

I should have known better than to think that.

* * *

**Wow, what a fun chapter to write! I hope you guys liked it! Although, I don't think that was one of my better chapters. I know that the characters are really OOC from how they are in the rest of the story, but I thought I'd take a break from it being all gloomy. I wanted to show you guys more of Thalia and Annabeth's relationship and how they usually act when Annabeth isn't all dark and depressing. I'm in a really good mood today as you can probably tell. Also, did you guys like my last chapter? I feel like some of you didn't like it. And OMG, I'm at 270 reviews! Could we pretty please make it to 300 within this chapter or the next? It would make my day! Thanks guys! REVIEW! (Even if you're a guest! :) **

**I  
I  
I  
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	16. Stalker!

**AHHHHHHHHHHH! I never expected to get 300 reviews in that last chapter! I thought I'd have to wait another chapter before I made it, but you guys were absolutely AMAZING! 317 reviews! And I got 42 in just the last chapter! I LOVE YOU GUYS! So, I'm not exactly in a 'Let's go a jump over a rainbow!' kind of mood today because I got bullied a ton today at school, but I'll try to make another humorous chapter. But it will start getting gloomy soon. Sorry! But in thanks for the reviews, I'm going to do some review responses! And I feel SO bad that I can't respond to everyone! So please don't feel offended if I don't!**

**Review Responses:**

**Truly Unique Me: SHIZ! I completely forgot her breaking her wrist! Thanks so much for pointing that out! Thank you. I usually go back and read the last chapter I did before starting a new one but I guess I never reread that one! Can we all just play nicely and act like it either never happened or it was magically healed or something? Thanks!**

**platypusluvver: I don't think I'll make her dyslexic in this one.**

**MistFloo: Thank you! Finally someone who likes that I take my time with the whole Percabeth thing!**

**Bluestar4ever: Thanks so much! I try to base Annabeth on myself, so when I write her feelings, I too am feeling them. I guess that helps me portray them better.**

**May Salome Love: Thank you! I'm pretty hard on myself about grammar, so it really makes me feel good when people compliment me on it. And you'll just have to wait and see!**

**Guest: Awww! Wow, that review made me feel amazing! I LOVED it! I'm sorry that your parents won't let you get a fanfiction account. Keep trying! Thanks again!**

**Percabethlvrknowsall: Lololol! I hope you get better soon!**

**i heart sea spawn: Thanks and DEAL! ;)**

**ChildoftheHunt36: Lol! Well, you don't have a big ego. JK! But yeah, you basically got it right!**

**Percyjacksonfangirl11: Lol! While I'm a lot like Annabeth, I also have all of Thalia'a craziness! Have any of you ever just sat in a store on th floor or one of the couches that they had on display, and just sat in front of the TVs and watched that movie that was playing? I did that with my friends once... got a lot of strange looks.**

**THANK YOU TO EVERYONE ELSE WHO REVIEWED, INCLUDING GUESTS!**

**HAPPY READING!**

* * *

**Annabeth**

"Annie, hurry up!" Can you guess who that was? You got it! Thalia.

"Uh, Thalia, in case you hadn't realized, you're the one who came early! We planned to go at 1:00 and you came over at 11:00. And right now, it's 12:30," I pointed out.

"Oh. Well, still, hurry up!" she said. "Oh, and I call shot-gun!"

"Hey, no fair! We're the ones taking you!" I said.

"Yup, and therefore, you should treat your guest with respect," she said innocently.

"Number one: You aren't a guest, you're family. And sisters always fight over stuff. And number two: I'd have to be on my death-bed to treat you with respect," I smirked.

"Oh, gee, I feel so loved," she said, rolling her eyes. Then without warning she called, "Race ya!"

"That is so not fair! You got a head start!" I complained, running after her.

"Too bad!" she yelled back. "I'm gonna beat you!"

"In your dreams, Grace!" I ran faster and caught up to Thalia. We got there at the same time. I tried to push her off the seat while she tried to push me off.

Then we stopped and sighed. "I suppose there's only one way to solve this," I said.

"Rock, paper, scissors!" we both exclaimed.

My dad walked up.

"You guys ready to go?" he asked.

"Hold on. We need to rock, paper, scissors for shot-gun," Thalia said.

"Oh, that's mature," Dad said, amused.

"You know it! Okay ready?" Thalia said. I nodded.

"Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!"

Thalia said rock, I said paper.

"HAHA! I win! WHAT NOW?! In your face, Grace!" I said. Thalia just smirked. Uh oh.

"What?" I asked her.

"Well... I think I win," Thalia said.

"What?! I won fair and square!"

"Well, here's my reasoning. Okay, so,I understand that Scissors can beat Paper, and I get how Rock can beat Scissors, but there's no way Paper can beat Rock. Is Paper supposed to magically wrap around Rock leaving it immobile? If so, why can't paper do this to scissors? Screw scissors, why can't paper do this to people? Why aren't sheets of college ruled notebook paper constantly suffocating students as they attempt to take notes in class? I'll tell you why, because paper can't beat anybody, a rock would tear that stuff up in two seconds. That's why when I play rock/ paper/ scissors, I always choose rock. Then when somebody claims to have beaten me with their paper I can punch them in the face with my ready-made fist and say, "Oh, I'm sorry, I thought paper would protect you".

I blinked. Thalia smirked.

"That is so not fair!" I complained.

Thalia turned to my dad. "Mr. Chase, you're the judge. What do you think?"

My dad hesitated. I gave him my famous glare.

"Hmmm... Thalia does have a point."

"Oh come on! She's never pulled that stunt before!"

"Well, how about this? Thalia can sit in the front on they way there and you can sit in the front on the way back."

I very maturely stuck my tongue out at Thalia, who smiled sweetly, as I climbed into the back. Oh, I was so going to get her back for that little trick!

"So where is Sue?" Thalia asked.

I wanted to say,"Probably at a bar," but I kept my mouth shut.

"Oh, she's out with the boys on a trip to Disney World."

Thalia and I bickered the rest of the way.

When we arrived, Thalia jumped out and squealed, "Yay!" like a little girl.

I go out and Thalia started skipping to the entrance. I followed her.

Dad quickly paid and immediately when we got our coins, we raced off to the ski ball machines.

"I bet I can get a higher score than you!" Thalia challenged.

"I bet you ten dollars that I'll be both of you," Dad said, walking up behind us.

I glared at them. "You're on."

We played for like half and hour (and I won!), when we heard a bunch of voices singing "Happy Birthday".

We walked over and saw a group of little kids singing to a little brunette. Chuck E. was singing along.

"That's kinda creepy," Thalia said. I nodded.

I noticed Thalia glance longingly at a the blue ice cream cake.

Then Chuck E. looked up. Right at me.

I looked at Thalia.

"Run."

So we ran like idiots to a table where my dad was seated.

"Hey, girls. What's up?"

"Uh, nothing. When are we going to eat?" I asked.

"I just ordered some pizza! It should be here in a bit!"

I saw Thalia glance back at the cake again.

"Come on! What do you want to do next?" I asked her.

"Have a rematch!"

So we did. Six of them. I won four of them.

We turned around and saw Chuck E. coming in our direction.

"Maybe he wants to offer us a piece of cheese," Thalia laughed.

"He's weird. Anywho, I need to go use the bathroom," I told her and walked off.

When I came out, Thalia was leaning against the wall with her mouth full. Of blue cake.

"Thalia! Did you just steal a piece of the cake from their party?" I asked incredulously.

"Jeez, calm down, Annabeth! I just went up to this sweet little girl and traded her some of my tickets for her piece of cake," she said.

"How many tickets did you give her?"

"Well, I told her it was a hundred, but it was actually only fifty." She hardly got to finish that sentence before I walked over to her and smacked her on the back of her head.

"OW!"

"Good." Then I shook my head. "You are so absolutely hopeless."

We walked back to Dad's table and we all ate some pizza. Dad and Thalia had a contest to see who could eat the most pieces of pizza. Yeah, so mature right?

One thing that kinda weirded me out was the fact that Chuck E. kept walking past our table and glancing at me. After like the eighth time, Thalia said,"Annabeth, have you noticed that Chuck E. won't stop staring at you?"

I nodded.

After we were all finished eating, I said,"So what do you guys want to do next?"

"Play ski ball!" Thalia yelled.

I groaned. "But we've played it a hundred times!"

"Yup, and we'll play it a hundred more if I want to," she demanded.

"Coming Dad?" I asked.

"Nah, go ahead. I ate way too much."

I hesitated for a second. But then Thalia yanked on my arm and pulled me away.

And we played some more. Then I felt a tap on my shoulder.

"Annabeth?" I turned around. And guess who was staring at me? Chuck E. Cheese.

I yelped and leapt away.

"Thalia?" Chuck E. asked, turning to her.

She dropped her remaining plate of cake.

"AHHHHH! It's Chuck E. Cheese! He's out to get us! Get away from Annabeth you creeper!" she yelled. I cracked up.

Only Thalia would call a mouse a creeper.

Thalia grabbed me and dragged me to the other side of the building. Thalia ducked behind a booth.

For a few minutes, we lost Chuck E. had lost us until, "Annabeth, it's just-"

"STOP STALKING US YOU DERANGED MOUSE!" Thalia screamed. I was beginning t think that it wasn't Chuck E. who was the deranged one.

The person reached up and took his head off. Scratch that, he took his mask off.

Immediately, amused sea green eyes locked on to mine.

"Percy?" I gasped. But Thalia was mad.

"Perseus Jackson! How dare you?! You made me drop my cake!" Thalia yelled. The whole building was quiet now.

A little boy whispered, "Mommy, is that girl going to kill Chuck E. Cheese?"

I blushed. Thalia is so embarrassing.

Percy just laughed. "Are you scared of Chuck E. Cheese?" he asked Thalia.

"No, she always acts like that. It's her way of telling the world that she's not normal," I answered for her.

He laughed again. Everyone started to go back to what they were doing.

"So you work here?" I asked him. He didn't even looked embarrassed.

"Yup. Part time. It was the only place I could find a job, and my mom could use some more money."

"Aww, that's sweet!" Thalia smiled.

"So how are you, Annabeth?" he asked, looking me straight in the eye.

I saw Thalia smirk and walk away.

"I'm pretty good," I told him. "I talked with my dad and he's going to try to spend more time with me. He told me was sorry and that he hadn't forgotten about me or Mom," I said, my eyes shining.

"That's wonderful, Annabeth! I'm so happy for you!" he said.

And then he pulled me into a hug. And I didn't back away. I snuggled into him.

"Thanks," I said.

Now, I'll admit, it was a little weird hugging a guy who was half-dressed as a mouse, in the middle of Chuck E. Cheese's, with your dad and best friend and quite a few other people staring at you.

I pulled away. When our eyes locked again, a weird feeling swept through my mind. I couldn't figure out what it was.

"I'll see you tomorrow," he whispered.

He smiled and walked away.

I went over to Thalia and my dad. Dad looked confused as to why I was just hugging Chuck E. Cheese, and Thalia looked about ready to burst.

She opened her mouth to talk, but before she could get anything out, I said,"Don't you say a thing!"

And as I walked out of the building to the car, I realized with a blush, what that weird feeling was.

Although I hated to admit it, I couldn't lie to myself.

I was in love with Percy Jackson.

* * *

**How was that? Good? Bad? Terrible? REVIEW and tell me! And I found that rock, paper, scissors thing on someone's profile and I just couldn't resist putting it on here. I'm sorry if you don't like it. I know thi schapter wasn't my best, but it will get better! Also, I just updated 'Starting Over'! AND THANK YOU AGAIN FOR 317 REVIEWS! I'm still kind of in shock! Please make my day (or night) and REVIEW! (Even if you're a guest!) Thanks!**


	17. In Love

**Hey guys! Thank you guys for 37 reviews in one chapter! And 355 REVIEWS?! You guys are totally spoiling me! But keep it up! ;) Thank you to all of you who reviewed. And especially to the ones who made me feel better after a week of bullying. You have no idea what that means to me. It really put a smile on my face! Did any of you know that Rick Riordan is coming out with a PJO/Kane Chronicles crossover book in May? I can't wait! Anywho, thanks and REVIEW!**

**Review Responses:**

**Cmedance: Wow... that made my day! It literally almost brought tears to my eyes! It meant so much to me. I don't even know you, and to have you say that to me just means so much. You are a very good person. I mean, just... wow. Thank you so much. I will hold those words close to me. :)**

**Guest: Thank you. But sanding up for myself doesn't work. They just us it to make fun of me more. And in my experience, teachers don't help. They tell us to go to the counselors who basically just tell us to suck it up. I'll get over it! But thank you so much!**

**Guest: Once again: Thank you! I can't speak for other fanfictioners, but I am definitely not a popular girl. I do have a group of friends. We are all part of the advance classes which makes us automatic geeks. We are really weird! But I am also the girl who is made fun of because of my love of horses and I'm not pretty and instead of wearing make up and curling my hair and wearing skirts, I wear ripped up jeans and a T-shirt. Thanks again for your review!**

**kaytie61400: Awww! Thank you so much! PM me whenever! Sorry, I can't write more, my mom is rushing me to get to sleep! **

**Happy Reading!**

* * *

**Percy**

As I walked to school, I thought about what had happened yesterday.

It had been pretty amusing to watch Thalia and Annabeth. I had been entertaining the little kids, when I had noticed the two girls staring at me. I couldn't tell for sure that it was them. Then I kept walking past their table but they would always have their faces turned away. Then, finally when the blond girl was in the bathroom, I saw the other girl come a take a girl's piece of cake. I knew it was Thalia.

When I finally got up the courage to go and say hi to Annabeth, she jumped and Thalia completely freaked! I mean, seriously?! I was not prepared to go running around the store chasing them two! And poor Annabeth looked like she was going to die of embarrassment.

I was also surprised by the fact that she didn't seem mad at me for asking about the scream. I was still very curious and I was determined to find out.

But the thing that surprised me most, was that she didn't pull away from my hug. She was in front of her dad, Thalia, and a bunch of random people. And hugging her felt so... right. She was warm, and I could see in her eyes that she was happier. There was a certain light in them that hadn't been there before. It made me feel oddly triumphant.

I walked through the doors of the school, and went to Mr. Brunner's class room.

And there she was.

Her princess curls hung cascaded loosely down her back, and, of course, she held a book in her hand. She was talking to Mr. Brunner.

"Percy!" I heard someone call my name.

I turned around. It was Rachel.

"Hi!" she said enthusiastically. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Annabeth dart a quick glance over in our direction before turning her attention back to Mr. Brunner.

"Hey," I said politely.

"And how was your weekend?" she asked.

"Good."

"I was thinking that maybe we should hang out sometime. You know, get to know each other a little more," she said, batting her lashes. Oh gag!

"Uh..." I said intelligently.

"Yo Percy!" Nico called, waving me over to the corner where the gang was hanging out.

"I've gotta go!" I said hastily.

"But-"

I very rudely walked away.

I walked over to my friends. "Hey guys! Thanks for saving me!"

"No problem, man! So how was your weekend?" Grover asked.

"Pretty good! I managed to kill my guy in _Temple Run 2 _eighty-six times," I laughed.

"Nice!"

"Hey Chuck E. What's up?" Can you guess who that was? Yup, Thalia! I groaned. She was never going to let e hear the end of this.

"Chuck E.?" Nico asked.

"You haven't told them yet?" Thalia laughed gleefully. Oh gosh.

"Told us what?" they all asked in unison.

Thalia laughed again and climbed on top of a desk.

"YO, PEOPLE! LISTEN UP! I've got a very important announcement to make!" she yelled. Everyone looked up at her. Oh. My. Gosh.

"Well, I'd like to congratulate our favorite new student, Percy Jackson, on getting a very important new job!"

I sunk low into my seat. I could see people looking back and forth between the two of us curiously.

"Without him, little kids all over the area would be lost without him," she continued.

By this time, I wished I was like Nico and dressed in black, so that I could blend in with the shadows. Thalia made it sound like I spent my time with orphans, or saved kid's life or something heroic.

"He has found a job at Chuch E. Cheese's, as the one and only, Chuck E. Cheese himself! Let's all give him a great round of applause!"

Silence.

People looked from me to her in disbelief.

Then, Nico suddenly burst out laughing. And then started choking. And fell out of his chair.

Even Thalia stopped and stared at him.

"Jeez, Nico, I know it's funny, but it's not _that _funny."

He just kept laughing. And of course, laughs are contagious, so it wasn't long until Grover joined in, and soon everyone was laughing. It wasn't like mean laughing.

After everyone calmed down, Thalia hopped down and joined us again.

"Goodness, Percy, if you sink any further down, you'll be in the Underworld," she chided.

"Oh, wow. Because I could have sworn that I was already in the Underworld," I muttered.

She patted my back. "Don't worry! I'm sure there's some other socially awkward kid out there who makes a living by dressing up as a mouse!"

"Oh, gee thanks! I'm really feeling the love here!"

"Your welcome!" she said sincerely.

I shook my head at her. "You are absolutely hopeless!"

"Hey," a sullen voice said, before Thalia could reply. I turned around. It was Annabeth.

"Hey. What's wrong?" I asked her.

She sat down next to me.

"Mr. Brunner just gave me a big lecture about how irresponsible I was by running off like that, and how it's rude to slap people in their face," she sighed.

Despite the situation, I had to laugh.

"Well, it isn't exactly nice to slap people in the face," I pointed out. "Not that I blame you for doing it."

She just shrugged. "On top of that, I have to spend a day after school and clean out the art room."

"Well that's not so bad," I said.

"With Rachel," she added.

"Oh..."

"Yeah," she said glumly.

"Well, I'm sure it will all work out," I tried to console her.

It wasn't until then that I noticed the gang staring at us.

"What?"

"Um, did we miss something?" Hazel, Piper, and Bianca asked.

"Well, when Annabeth so dramatically ran out of school on Friday, she ran into Percy, and they spent the whole day together," Thalia happily told them. Wow, it's nice to know that I have such a great friend that I can trust with my secrets.

Annabeth and I both turned red.

Silena squealed loudly and Jason, Leo, and Frank looked impressed.

"Wow, you've been here for like a week and you've already got a girlfriend?" Jason asked.

"Not to mention that hardest girl in the universe to get," Leo put in.

"We are not boyfriend and girlfriend!" we protested in unison.

Everyone smirked.

"Uh huh! Sure..."

"Okay, class! Quiet down! Today we'll be..."

And then we started our classes for today. Big whoop.

At lunch, Annabeth announced that she would be going to the dance. I can't say I was disappointed. She deserved to get out and have some more fun. Especially since I saw how happy she could be with her friends and dad.

At the end of the day, I was walking out of the school when a breathless voice called out my name.

"Percy!"

She ran up to me, her blond curls flowing behind her. I smiled.

"Hey!"

"Hey, mind if I walk with you?" she asked.

"Yeah, sure," I said, kinda baffled.

We walked in silence for half of the way. Then she spoke up.

"You asked me what that scream was." It was a statement. Not a question. I was surprised by her sudden change of personality.

She sighed. "Look, Percy. I'll tell you that it was me, bu you can't ask why. There are some things that I just can't tell you. Thalia doesn't even know. Dad doesn't even know. It's just so... complicated. And I feel bad because of the way I ran off on you on Saturday, but you have to understand-"

"Annabeth," I said.

"That I just can't tell you. I mean, I-"

"Annabeth," I said firmly.

When she kept babbling, I flung a hand out it front of her and stopped her. She turned and faced me, her eyes burning into mine. I felt an electric tingle where my skin was touching hers.

"Annabeth, I'm not asking you to tell me, but I just want you to know that whenever you need me, you can trust me."

I saw tears well up in her eyes. She pulled me into a hug and I felt a strange feeling go through me. Something was hurting her. And I felt the urge to protect her from it.

When she pulled away, gave me a small smile, and then walked into her house.

I slowly walked up to my house. As I walked in, I realized what that electric feeling was.

I couldn't deny it from myself anymore.

I was in love with Annabeth Chase.

* * *

**Sorry! Not my best chapter! I'll try to update soon! Thanks again everyone! Your support means everything to me!**

**Hey, I didn't just meet you. And this isn't really that crazy. But here's my next chapter. So review maybe? (Even if you're a guest!) Sorry, I'm hyped up!**


	18. Not Again!

**WOW! Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, or followed this story! I get so excited when I wake up every morning and I see the reviews I've gotten overnight. I also call the mean group of girls and school 'The Populars'. I want you guys to know that because of you (whoa... Kelly Clarkson moment) instead of coming home crying, I come home and log on to my fanfic account and smile when I see my reviews. :) Thanks guys!**

**Guest: Um... I'm sorry that I offended you. It was a typo that I didn't catch. It wasn't intentional! I fixed it. I'm sorry!**

**Again, a special thanks to the people who gave me encouragement to stand up for myself and told me that I'm better than them. It really does mean so much. I've reread my reviews about a 100 times! :) Thanks! **

**Happy Reading!**

* * *

**Annabeth**

I walked into my house, smiling on the inside. Percy actually hugged me! I mean, I knew that we had already hugged in Chuck E. Cheese, but _I _had hugged _him._ Now it was the other way around.

But I also felt so confused. When Percy had told me that I could trust him with anything, I had been _so _tempted to tell him. I had been tempted to tell him that Sue has started to abuse me, and what those horrible little boys do to me. I wanted to tell him about me and Rachel. And I just wanted to confess to him that I l-liked him.

Even in my mind, those words felt funny. Being in love had been a whole new concept for me, and it was something I had always tried to avoid. But this, what I felt towards him, felt so right.

But I knew that I couldn't tell him. I couldn't tell him about Sue or the boys. I wasn't ready to tell him about me and Rachel. And I definitely couldn't tell him that I liked him. What if he didn't like me back.

But those thoughts were quickly banished as Sue stepped in front of me. With an angry look on her face. What's new?

I closed the door behind me. And as soon as it was closed, Sue stepped towards me and grabbed my hair. I bit back a gasp.

"Did you tell your dad about me?" she hissed.

I didn't need to ask to know what she was talking about me.

"No!" I said truthfully. She yanked my hair harder.

"Tell the truth!" she snarled.

"I _am _telling the truth!" I protested. She banged my head into the door. Not this again.

"Oh really. I heard from the boys that they overheard you telling your dad."

What? Oh come on! She should seriously work on her logic.

"That's not possible! I went hung out with him yesterday while you and those devi- I mean boys were at Disney World!" I reasoned.

"Well, they told me what they heard." Then a sudden thought struck me. I narrowed my eyes at her.

"Wait... I thought you didn't want _anyone _to know about you going to bars. And, correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't believe that you would tell that to your little boys. Kids would tell anyone anything," I said. "You are lying. They didn't tell you a thing. You _wanted _to have an excuse to abuse me."

She studied me for a second.

"You are pretty smart. You got all that right. And you won't tell anybody any of that."

"Why do you hate me?" I whispered.

"Because you're all your dad ever talks about. He never shuts up about you and your mom and how yu are just like her. Like I care. Not to mention that I just don't like you. There's not much a particular reason for it," she said with an evil gleam in her eye.

She has got serious problems.

"Aw, you're making me blush!" I said sarcastically. Not the smartest thing to say to an abusive woman, but I blame my impulsive mind for that.

It doesn't really matter anyway because I couldn't take the words back. Sue sent a blow to my ribs. My breath sucked in as pain shot through my body.

"Don't you smart alec me Annabeth! I thought I'd given you enough warnings. If you continue to press my buttons I will not hesitate to take out my handy knife. I keep it with me at all times. Actually, I have it right here if you'd like me to demonstrate," she said, reaching into her pocket.

RING! Nice. Saved by the ring. She released my hair and let me pick up my phone. It was dad.

"Hi Dad!" I said, trying my best to sound cheerful.

"Hey honey! I'm so sorry, but I was just calling you to tell you that I have to work late tonight. I tried to get out of it, but they really need me. I'm so sorry!" he sounded truly sincere.

"It's okay, Dad!" I managed. "Sue is home, so I won't be home alone," I said, trying to sound happy about it. But inside I was like, "NOOOO! HELP!"

"Well, that's good! I really am sorry! I love you, sweetheart," he said, sounding slightly relieved.

"I love you too, Dad. Oh, and is it okay if I go on a walk?" I asked him, knowing that if I asked Sue, she wouldn't let me go.

"Sure! Why wouldn't it be okay?" he asked, sounding a little confused. I shrugged, even though I knew that he couldn't see me.

"Just making sure. Bye, Dad! I love you!"

"I love you too!"

After I hung up, I turned to face Sue.

"I'm going on a walk," I told her.

"Did I tell you that you could go?"

"Dad said I could," I retorted. She looked like she was about to lunge at me again, but I just plopped my book bag down, and ran out the door.

As soon as the house was out of sight, I slowed down and took a deep breath. I knew that I would be in huge trouble with her when I got home. Not that I could call the place "home".

I walked around the block, trying to clear my head. I could feel a dull throb in my head, and it hurt where she had yanked at my hair.

I let a few tears escape, but as I began to get nearer to my house again, I slammed a lid on them.

"Annabeth!" I looked and saw that Percy was standing on the porch of his house.

I waved.

"Come here!" he called.

I felt my heart jump a little. Jeez, what is wrong with me. Annabeth Chase's heart does not jump.

"What's up?" I asked him.

"I saw you walking by and I wondered if you could help me with my algebra. I don't understand it!" he whined. I rolled my eyes.

But I was actually kind of happy. I could stall until I had to go back to my prison with Sue.

"Will your mom be okay with that?" I asked.

"Yup!"

"Okay then..."

I walked in and his mom was in the kitchen.

"Annabeth! How are you?"

"Hello Mrs. Jackson. I'm doing great!" I lied easily. "What about you?"

She smiled. "I am quite good!"

Then, Percy dragged me into his room and we started on the algebra. We worked for about an hour. I wasn't too concerned about Sue. I knew she had probably forgotten about me anyway. But it was after an hour of work that I caught him staring at me for the sixth time.

"What?" I finally asked, exasperated. He just looked into my eyes. And I stared back.

"Have you been crying," he asked. Shiz. Well, I supposed I walked myself right into that trap.

"No," I tried to lie smoothly. But looking into those stunning green eyes made me waver a bit. Not much, but enough for him to see.

"Your lying," he stated.

"So what if I am?" I challenged. He moved closer to me, his eyes still never leaving mine.

"Annabeth, what is hurting you? I know you're upset about your mom, but I also know that there's something more to your sadness," he said softly.

"Percy, I can't-" I started to protest.

"You can trust me," he said insistently.

I looked down. "Percy, I just don't know," I said quietly. "It's all so complicated."

"Annabeth," he whispered softly, and I felt his hand tilt my chin up gently. I felt my skin tingle from his touch. I loved his warmth.

Subconsciously, I felt myself move towards him.

And then I realized he was doing the same...

* * *

**Sorry if that wasn't great or it was boring. I just got ditched my best friend today. I guess she wasn't really my friend after all... But you guys make me feel so good about myself, so thank you so much. And can you believe I'm at 395 REVIEWS?! I can't! I was looking at my old chapters and I saw that I was ecstatic over 36 reviews! Lol! I've been getting over 30 reviews for my last chapters! Also, I posted a one-shot called 'Good-bye'. I couldn't resist. It's about a girl named Hope and she, uh,... killed herself. Yeah, pretty depressing, but she's Annabeth's half-sister and the story shows how Annabeth takes it and what bullying really does. Could you check it out and review? Thanks! REVIEW! (Even if you're a guest!)**


	19. Complicated

**Whoa... 50 reviews in ONE CHAPTER?! Wow... And 460 reviews in all?! Thanks so much! And thanks for all the support on my story 'Good-bye'. It means so much to me. And I'm sorry if I don't seem very happy today, but I just feel really sick, but I know that my best friend at school (puppy-crazygurl13) and you guys really want an update so here you go. And I was planning on doing review responses, but that'll have to wait until next chapter, because I feel rotten right now, and school was absolutely horrid. Thanks again! Read, review, and recommend!**

**Happy Reading!**

* * *

**Annabeth**

Subconsciously, I felt myself move towards him.

And then I realized he was doing the same.

My heart started to beat faster and faster. And then it was racing.

I was in love with him, I'd already established that. But does this mean that he loves me back?

We moved closer and closer.

I could hear his heartbeat and his short breaths and RIIIIINNNNNGGG!

We shot away from each other.

OH COME ON! I thought this kind of thing only happened in movies! What the heck?!

I grabbed my stupid, annoying, horrible phone that I promised myself I would smash and picked it up.

"What?" I answered, quite rudely.

"Annabeth? Are you okay?" It was Dad.

"Uh, yeah, I'm fine! Why do you ask?"

"Well, Sue told me you went on a walk and you aren't back yet so I was kind of worried."

"Wait, hold up. You're at home?" I asked.

"Yup!" he said, sounding kind of proud of himself.

"How?"

"Well, the meeting got put off to tomorrow! So I figured I'd come home and we could all eat dinner like a family."

Haha. Like you could call us a _family._ I mean, yeah, Dad and I cleared things up a little but could you really call us a family? Sue abuses me, for goodness sake! But then again, its partially my fault because I won't tell anyone. But I couldn't tell anyone! UGH! I shook my head to get rid of the jumbled thoughts.

I sighed. "Sure Dad!" I said, a little too brightly. He didn't notice. But Percy did. I saw his eyes quickly analyze me and his eyes held a look of concern.

"Sounds good Anna-banana!" he said.

I rolled my eyes. "Oh my gosh, Dad, _please _do not call me that!"

He laughed. "What? My little girl doesn't like her old pet name?"

I groaned. "Whatever, I'll see ya in a second!"

And then I hung up.

"I'm sorry, Percy, I've got to go," I told him.

He looked pretty disappointed. I laughed at his expression. Then he turned serious again.

"Is everything okay at home?" he asked.

"Yeah, things are just... complicated."

I cocked his said. "You say that a lot. I wish I could help you make things uncomplicated but you won't tell me what's so complicated," he pouted.

I laughed. I ruffled his hair affectionately and started to walk out.

"Annabeth, wait!" he called.

I turned around. And he was right behind me. And I mean_ right _behind me. I bumped into him.

"I'm sorry," I said.

"It's all good. I wanted to tell you something before you left," he told me.

"What is it?" I whispered, aware that we were drifting closer again.

"Well, not exactly tell you. More like give you," he said.

And before I could say anything, he closed the gap between us.

It wasn't heated or fast or any of that mess you see in corny Christmas movies and chick flicks. No, this was a soft, slow tender kiss that held love. I knew then that I was truly liked him and that he liked me back.

His lips were soft and sweet. He was so gentle, as though I was a piece of glass that he was afraid to break. I could feel his slight smile against my lips. I pulled away reluctantly.

I opened my eyes and gave him a soft smile and a hug.

"Bye Percy," I said softly.

And then I walked away, not even caring that I was going to have to survive a "family" dinner. I walked into the house smiling.

* * *

Later that night, as I lay back on my bad, I thought back on the day. It had gone from good, to bad, to okay, to TERRIBLE, to enjoyable, and then BLISSFUL.

I touched my lips, thinking about how Percy was my first kiss. And I wouldn't have wanted it any other way. I knew that he liked me and I was thrilled.

I didn't tell Thalia. I want to keep this new bliss to myself, at least for a little bit. It was all so new to me. I had never liked someone in my whole entire life, much less be liked back.

And dinner wasn't even so bad with Dad there. Okay, so maybe my feelings were a little biased but who cares? It's better than feeling like I'm being tortured.

I finally felt like I had some bit of peace in my life. I didn't know that it wouldn't last very long.

Nevertheless, I fell into a deep, happy sleep.

* * *

The next day, I practically skipped into home room. And everyone noticed.

"Jeez, what's up with Annabeth today?" Nico asked.

Thalia shrugged. "No idea. She's actually humming! I think she's gone insane."

Nico sighed. "Oh well, we all knew it would happen someday," he said, shaking his sadly. "But no one thought it would happen so soon. It's always sad when it happens at such a young age. She's just a little girl!" he wailed.

He dropped down on his knees dramatically. "WHY?"

Everyone stared at him. I walked over and swiftly smacked him upside the head.

"Ow! What was that for?" he protested.

"That was for the theatrics." I smacked him again. "And that was because I think you're weird." And then I smacked him yet again. "And that was because I'm rather enjoying doing this!"

Everyone stared at me. I don't usually talk too much around these people. And I'm definitely not usually in a happy mood.

"Hey," a voice said behind me. I turned around.

"Hi!" I said warmly to Percy.

We all went to our back corner and joked and talked. I was pleased that me and Percy's relationship wasn't awkward or anything.

At lunch, I decided to sit outside on one of the picnic tables and Percy came with me. The others were inside because apparently it was too hot. But I knew they were trying to get Percy and I together. Little did they know that we already were...

"So how are things for you at home?" Percy asked. I shrugged.

"Okay, I guess." I laughed. "You ask me that a lot."

He shrugged. "Only because I care," he said simply.

I nibbled on my pizza, and then took out some buildings that I was designing. Percy grabbed a sheet.

"You drew these?" he asked in awe.

I nodded.

"What is this building supposed to be?" he asked curiously.

I looked down. "That is my dream house. I know, it's silly."

"No it's not. Everyone has a dream. Tell me more about this."

"Well... I don't want my house to be huge. But I don't want it to be tiny. I want to have a small pond in the back, and a screened porch where I can work on blueprints and read. I want my house to be a place that really feels like home. I want a husband who will love me and I want to hear the sound of children's laughter. I want a dad who will spend time with me and a mom who doesn't ab-" I stopped short. My eyes widened as I realized that I had almost given my secret away. I had gotten so caught up in the moment.

Immediately, I could practically feel me withdraw into myself.

"What Annabeth? A mom who doesn't what?" Percy asked with concern.

I shook my head. "Nothing. I shouldn't have said anything. It's complicated."

I started to get up, but he gently grasped my wrists.

"You did it again. Why won't you let me help? I want to!"

I was so tempted but I just couldn't.

"I can't. I'm sorry, Percy. Class is about to start. We should get going."

I started to walk away.

"Annabeth?"

I turned around.

"What?" I asked him.

"You should talk about what you want more often. Your eyes glow and you look beautiful when you're happy."

I smiled.

But inside, I felt something rip through me. I suddenly wanted to tell him everything. To just forget Sue and her threats. To forget the boys, and to forget Dad.

But I couldn't. It was more complicated than that.

* * *

**Worse chapter ever! So sorry! I'm distracted and I didn't know where I was going with this. But I have a pretty good idea about what's gonna happen next. I'm really sorry and I know that she was way OOC from the rest of the story. Gosh, I feel pretty bad. But thanks guys! Anywho, my other best friend posted her first story called "The Person Within" Her pen name is Chubbypandaz and she is amazing! I'm not biased either. I really do think her story is great. So could you please check it out and review it? Thanks! And thank you guys again for so many reviews! I swear, sometimes you guys can be better than my friends and family (shhh!). You're so kind! THANK YOU! REVIEW! (Even if you're a guest!)**


	20. Anonymous Message

**Whoa... 519 REVIEWS! Wow, guys! Just wow... I'm speechless right now...**

**Review Responses:**

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**Again, a HUGE thanks to everyone who has reviewed/favorited/followed this story! Your support means the world to me! I still can't believe it...**

**HAPPY READING!**

* * *

**Percy**

_It's complicated, _Annabeth had said. _Complicated. Complicated. COMPLICATED! _The word echoed annoyingly in my head.

Why couldn't things just be uncomplicated? I wanted to help her. I couldn't understand what was hurting her, but I wanted to protect her from it.

And then I remembered how _peaceful _Annabeth had looked when she talked about a future. I could tell that basically what she dreamed of was happiness. It would help if she would just tell me what was making her unhappy!

But nooooo! It's too _complicated! _I promised myself that I wouldn't ever use that word again.

She had talked about how she wanted laughing kids and a husband. Briefly, I wondered who her husband would be. Would he be handsome? Would he treat her good? Would he really truly, love her?

All through the rest of the day, I couldn't stop thinking about her.

Back in home room, at the end of the day, I walked over to Annabeth and the gang.

"Hey, guys! What's up?" I asked.

"The sky," Thalia said, rolling her eyes.

"Really?! 'Cause I was pretty sure it was the ground," Nico joked.

Grove laughed. "So do you guys have as much homework as I do?" Jason asked.

"If you're talking about a 4-page essay on Greek myths, two pages of algebra, and studying a bunch of chemistry notes then yes," Frank groaned.

"Oh that's nothing! I already finished the 4-page essay and I've done one page of my algebra," Annabeth commented.

Nico rolled his eyes. "Of course you have. You're practically a mini Einstein!"

"Einstein was a guy," Piper pointed out.

Nico smirked. "Exactly."

And that earned him another smack. He pouted.

"Stop hitting me!" he whined.

"Oh, shut up! You sound like you're five!" Thalia scolded.

He stood up and pounded his desk.

"I do not sound like I'm five!" he yelled like, well, a five-year old.

We all cracked up.

"Stop laughing at me!"

We laughed harder.

"UGH! You guys suck!" Nico complained.

"Jeez, man! No need to get so angry! We're just giving you a hard time," I said.

"I AM NOT ANGRY!" he yelled.

And that was it for Thalia. She fell out of her seat and started rolling on the floor, clutching her side. The rest of us were laughing too. Nico was just too much fun to mess around with. Even Annabeth cracked a smile. Nico stomped off to the other side of the room.

Finally, we all calmed down. Well, except for Thalia.

"HAHAHAHAHA!"

Thalia's face was red, and she was having trouble breathing. Hazel looked down at her with genuine concern.

"Should we call 9-1-1? She might die from lack of oxygen," Piper joked.

"HAHAHAHA! He's... so... haha... crazy... haha!" Thalia gasped. Most of the class was staring at her.

"She's one to talk," Nico mumbled from across the room.

"Hahahaha!"

"Nah, let's just let her be," Jason said.

"No way! I've been wanting an excuse to slap her for, like, my whole life!" Annabeth said.

She crouched down next to Thalia.

"Oh, Thaliaaaa," Annabeth sing-songed.

"Hahahaha!"

Annabeth promptly reached out and slapped Thalia. SMACK!

Silence. Thalia froze. Then she slowly sat up with a murderous look on her face. Out of the corner my eye, I saw Mr. Brunner watching us, looking quite amused.

"ANNABETH CHASE!" she screeched. "I am absolutely going to _kill _you!"

She raised an eyebrow. "Nice to know! I love you too!"

Thalia opened her mouth to say something, but just then Nico walked over, giving Annabeth an appraising look.

"Nice! Thanks for slapping her! That truly made my day," he said.

But the second Thalia saw Nico, she collapsed into laughter again.

"HAHAHAHA!"

"Oh my god, she's hopeless!" Leo said, tossing up his hands in exasperation.

"Seriously, Thals, it wasn't _that _funny," I told her.

Then something caught my eye. Annabeth had sunken into the shadows and had her phone out (Mr. Brunner lets us have our phone out in home room). I watched her as she scanned the message. Immediately, I saw the spark in her eyes disappear, and her face darkened into an emotionless mask, all traces of laughter gone.

She looked up and her eyes met mine. She sent me a brief pleading look that clearly said, _Please don't ask. _I shot her a concerned look, but decided I couldn't do anything right now. I'd ask her about it later. I also saw that Mr. Brunner noticed. A worried look crossed his face.

The bell rang, and people started filing out of the room, some stepping over Thalia or veering around her.

Piper helped a gasping Thalia up.

"Annabeth," Mr. Brunner called.

"Yes?" she answered.

"May I talk to you for a moment?" he asked kindly.

"Sure," she said. She spoke in an empty monotone, and Thalia even noticed because she immediately stopped laughing.

"You guys go on ahead without me," she said over her shoulder. Her eyes briefly locked with mine, and for just a second she slipped the mask off her face. With her eyes, she sent me a look that this time said, _Wait outside. _

I don't know how I could read her looks like that, but I obeyed her commands, whether spoken or unspoken.

I shouldered my heavy bag and stood next to the doorway, leaning against the wall. I wasn't trying to listen in, but I could hear their voices with ease.

"... just tired," I heard Annabeth say. I rolled my eyes. She can act, but she's a rotten liar which made no sense to me.

"You can tell me anything," Mr. Brunner said. Silence.

"If anyone is hurting you in any way please tell me. I only want to help," Mr. Brunner added.

"That's what I said," I muttered under my breath.

"Really, everything's fine," she insisted. Another period of silence in which I could practically see Mr. Brunner's ancient looking eyes analyzing Annabeth.

Finally, he sighed.

"Very well, Annabeth. But if you need to talk, you can always come to me. Or Percy."

My eyes widened. I felt my face redden even though no one could see me.

"W-what? What d-do you m-mean, _Percy?_" Annabeth stuttered.

He chuckled softly.

"Annabeth, dear, I can see the looks he gives you and vice versa."

"Um, okay then. Well, thanks... I guess. Bye," she said, and then I heard footsteps coming towards me. Then a hand took my arm and dragged me outside.

"God, that was so embarrassing!" Annabeth exclaimed.

I laughed.

"No kidding!"

Then we started walking in silence. After a while, I just couldn't take it anymore so I said,"Annabeth, what happened?"

"Nothing," she lied smoothly. It actually sounded convincing this time. But not enough.

"Don't lie to me. You got a text and then suddenly you went from Little Miss Sunshine to Little Miss Darkness and Doom. What did the text say?"

"Calm down, Percy! It was just a text from my dad telling me that he'll be home late," she said. That was pretty reasonable. It would certainly explain why she got all sad. But she became a little too for just her dad not being able to come home for dinner. There was something more to that text than she was telling me, but she made it quite clear that she wasn't going to talk about it anymore.

We walked the rest of the way home in silence, so I was kind of surprised when she stopped me before I could walk up to my house.

"Percy," she said, grabbing my hand. I turned around. I was not expecting what happened next.

She stood on her toes and pressed her lips to mine.

This time, the kiss felt somewhat urgent, as though she was trying to communicate through it. I could feel a small bit of... desperation? Maybe a bit of sadness? But there was also love somewhere in there.

Her lips were warm and soft. I gently wrapped my arms around her.

But as quickly as the kiss came, it ended. She pulled away, and slid her guard back up, letting a mask overcome her beautiful face.

"I really do like you, Percy," she whispered softly.

"And I you," I said back.

"So is it official then? Are we boyfriend and girlfriend?" she asked hesitantly.

"Only if you want us to be," I responded.

She pecked me on the cheek.

"I'll take that as a yes," I chuckled softly.

"You got it," she said, and then she walked away.

* * *

**Annabeth**

As I walked into my, thankfully, empty house, I pulled out my phone. I went to my inbox and scrolled down until I found the message. With shaking hands, I opened the message and reread it.

_You are a stupid, worthless piece of crap! You should just go home and kill yourself!_

_-Anonymous_

* * *

**And the drama begins! Did you like it? Hate it? Tell me in a review! Honestly, I can't believe this is my 20th chapter! And it's all because of you guys that I've made it this far! So thank you sooooo much! Oh, and I'm going to try to make the next chapter be pretty dramatic too! Also, I couldn't resist the whole Thalia/Nico thing. I have a ton of fun making them crazy! Oh and please check out an amazing story I found by RebelGirl13 called 'Ghost Girl'. It's awesome! If you have any stories you want me to read just tell me! I might not read them immediately, but I will. Just don't EVERYONE do it just to spam on my story. Love ya guys! Please recommend this story!**

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**I  
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	21. Undying Love

**Hi guys! I would have updated sooner but I had band practice after school... it sucked! But anywho, THANK YOU for 568 reviews! You have no idea how much that means to me! So since apparently nobody reads author's notes, here's the next chapter! I hope you like it! Please recommend and review!**

**Happy Reading!**

* * *

**Annabeth**

Buzz. Buzz.

I ignored my phone. Thalia kept texting me and I knew she would just ask about my mood swing at the end of today. And I just wasn't in the mood for it.

I erased the column I had added to the building I was drawing. I couldn't seem to get it right! I tried again. This time, it seemed a little too crooked. I growled in frustration.

The words from that text echoed somewhere in the back of my mind.

_You should just go home and kill yourself!_

I wouldn't kill myself. That would be just stupid. But what I wanted to know was who sent that! Whoever it was is obviously a coward. If they wanted to say that to me, they should have just said it straight to my face. Or at least put a name! And the person must be insecure about themselves to sink so low.

I was furious, but somewhere inside me, compassion welled inside me. I felt sorry for this person. But I was going to find ou who it was.

Buzz. Buzz.

"Ugh!"

I grabbed my phone and roughly opened it. I sighed. Thalia had sent me eighteen messages.

I decided to just text her back if it meant shutting her up.

_WHAT?! -A_

Her reply was almost immediate.

_FINALLY! What took u so long? I was starting 2 get worried! -T_

_*gasp* You? Worried? Lol! That's a first. -A_

_Oh shut up! But seriously, what's wrong? -T_

_Nothing. Just been busy. -A_

I worked on my sketch as I waited for her to reply. Thalia could be so nosy sometimes. But that's what made her my _best_ friend.

_What happened 2day? At the end? -T_

I sighed.

_Nothing, Thals. -A_

_Wow, u r a terrible liar, even when ur texting. -T_

I didn't even bother replying.

_Tell me. -T _She texted after she realized that I wouldn't text back.

Then I made my decision. I was so tired of carrying secrets around. If I wasn't going to tell her about Sue, I might as well just tell her about the text. Besides, it's not like there's anything she can do about it. But if I told her about Sue, Thalia would either kill her in her sleep, or kill _me _for not telling her sooner. Option A sounded better to me.

_Ur annoying! Fine. I'll tell u but u have to swear that u won't tell any1! -A_

_K! I, Thalia, swear on rainbows and fluffy bunnies that I won't tell any1 a word u say. -T_

I sighed again, figuring that was the best I'd be able to get out of her.

_Um, ok then... So I got an anonymous txt saying that I'm nothing but a piece of crap and that I should go home and kill myself. There. Happy now? -A_

I waited for her reply. I knew she would be furious. I mentally prepared myself. I could imagine her right now, her face turning red, and steam practically coming out of her ears. When I got her reply, I actually cringed.

_WHAT? I swear, when I figure out who did it, I will beat the **** out of that person! Annie, I will find who did this and kick their *** for u bc I no ur 2 nice 2 do that! And whoever sent u that needs 2 **** go 2 ****! :-( _

Oh great. Now Thalia will probably attack every person in the school until she finds out who sent it.

_Whoa, Thals! Calm down! No need for the language! It's ok. I can handle it. Don't do anything rash. And don't call me Annie! -A_

_It is NOT ok! Maybe u should tell Mr. Brunner. -T_

I felt a small wave of panic threaten to wash over me.

_No! No plz, Thals, u can't! U promised! DON'T TELL ANY1! -A_

_Jeez, sorry. It was just a suggestion. I won't tell. But I've gtg now. Ttyl! Luv ya, Annie! :P -T_

_K! Bye! And don't call me Annie! -A_

I closed my phone and tossed it aside. Then I went back to my drawing.

About an hour later, I heard the front door open. As the footsteps came up the stairs and towards my room, I tensed. I just couldn't deal with Sue right now.

To my relief, a beaming face peeked in.

"Hi Dad!" I exclaimed cheerfully. I got up and gave him a hug.

"Hey sweetheart! You seem to be in a good mood today," he commented.

I snorted. If only he knew.

"Yup! I'm happy you're home," I told him. Which was true, I guess.

He sat down on my bed.

"So how was your day?" he asked me.

And from then on, I lied.

* * *

BEEP!

I groaned and smacked the insistent alarm clock. Wednesday. One of my least favorite days of the week. I know this doesn't make sense, but I hated Wednesdays because they made me feel so... trapped. It's like, you can't go back to the weekend, and you still have two hard days ahead of you. I don't know... it's hard to explain.

I quickly got ready and headed to school with Thalia, who bombarded me with questions about the text the whole entire way. When we got into the school, I escaped into the bathroom, telling Thalia to go on ahead.

"...likes Percy," some girls were saying. I stood, hidden, in a stall.

Another girl laughed.

"Really? Actually, I can believe that Annabeth would fall for Percy. But does she _really _think that he would _actually _choose her? Puh-lease!" I recognized the voice. It belonged to Drew, one of Rachel's minions.

I smirked on the inside, thinking about how Percy and I had officially declared ourselves as boyfriend and girlfriend. And I still hadn't even told anyone.

"I know right? I mean, talk about a wanna-be!" the other girl said.

Then they started talking about getting their nails done before the dance. I don't really believe in stereotypes, but I'd be lying if I wasn't thinking right then, "Talk about stereotypical!"

They soon left and I let out a breath. I quietly left the bathroom and walked to my locker.

When I turned around, I came face t face with Rachel and Drew.

I raised my eyebrows at them.

"May I help you with something?" I asked in a sugary sweet voice.

"Yes. Is it true that you like Percy? Rachel asked bluntly, in an equally sweet voice.

"And that's your business, why...?"

"Oh, somebody's getting defensive," Drew smirked. "I guess that was a 'yes'."

"Oh, get over yourselves! Now if would you excuse me? I was never a big fan of Barbie dolls. I need to get away."

They blinked. I tried to step around them but Rachel stepped in front of me.

"So, Annabeth. What exactly makes you think that Percy would like _you _of all people. Especially me?"

"Because I do," a voice said behind me. A pair of arms wrapped around me from behind.

Rachel's eyes widened. "P-Percy?" she stuttered.

"Hello, Rachel," he replied cooly.

I turned around in his arms.

"Hi, Annabeth! How's it going?" Percy asked, a slight smile on his face.

"Great... now!"

He tousled my hair. I was fully aware of everyone in the hall watching us. I knew that Percy was just putting on a show, so that everyone knew that I was taken. And by _him, _no less. Rachel and Drew gasped.

"Y-you l-like _her?!_" they shrieked.

Percy smiled. "Sure! What's not to like? Now, if you would excuse us please, I need to talk to my _girlfriend._" I laughed at the look on everyone's faces. Priceless.

Percy wrapped his arms around my shoulders and steered me to home room.

"Was that good?" he muttered in my ear. I laughed.

"That was _perfect!_"

He chuckled. We walked into the room hand in hand. Students looked up and stared, wide-eyed.

We casually waved and sat in the back with the gang. Once we sat down, we started laughing.

The rest of he gang stared at us.

"Um... did we miss something?" Piper asked.

"Why were you two _holding hands?!" _Thalia demanded.

"OMG, they totally like each other!" Silena shrieked.

They stared at us as if they expected us to deny it. We just looked at each other and laughed again.

"Oh. My. God." Thalia said. Then, she got a piece of paper and rolled it up like a megaphone. Oh no. She kicked some girl out of the desk in the middle of the room and stood on top of it.

"YO PEOPLES! May I have your attention for yet another important announcement?!"

Everyone grew silent and looked up at Thalia curiously. I groaned. Percy chuckled. And Mr. Brunner just sighed like he was all too used to Thalia's crazy antics. Which he was.

"Yes, Thalia? What's the big news? What big discovery have you made this time? That I'm a centaur? Or Greek gods exist?" Mr. Brunner joked.

"EVEN BETTER! May I have a drum roll please?" she asked dramatically.

Silence. She cleared her throat.

"I _said, _'May I have a drumroll please?!" she said, staring pointedly at the class. They halfheartedly pounded on their desks.

"Thank you! Well, our two simply amazing companions, Percy and Annabeth, have _finally _declared their undying love for each other!" she said proudly.

I choked on my piece of gum. Piper patted my back sympathetically. I stood up.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold up! Who said anything about 'undying love'? And what do you mean 'finally'? It's been like-what?-two weeks?! No offence," I added to Percy.

"None taken," he laughed.

Everyone just stared at us in silence a little more, before breaking out in a bunch of whispers and a lot of finger-pointing. I sighed. Obvious much?

Thalia hopped off the desk and walked over to us, grinning.

"How was that?" she asked.

"Horrible," I muttered.

"What was that?" she teased.

"I said, 'Awesome!'"

"That's what I thought!" Thalia joked.

I looked around the room and caught Mr. Brunner looking at me with an _I knew it all along _kind of look. Percy casually wrapped his arm around my shoulder, but neither of us made a big deal of it.

Nico walked in. He looked really sleepy and still had a bed head.

He stopped short when he saw us. His eyes grew wide and he gasped, pointing at me.

"I knew it! You're one of _them!" _he said and then ran away.

"Um, okay then..." I said.

"Oh sorry about that," Leo said. "I let him borrow a rated R horror movie. Bianca is pretty strict about that so he went behind her back and watched one. At midnight. Now, he's convinced that everyone who acts even a little differently is possessed," he finished.

"Lovely," Hazel said dryly.

The rest of the day went by fast, with people whispering in the halls about me and Percy. But I liked how we could just act normal. It's not like we were always making sappy comments to each other, or making out. We were just friends.

I was pretty tired by the end of the day in home room. And then my phone vibrated. My heart fell to me feet as I took in the harsh words.

_You didn't kill yourself? Why didn't you kill yourself? I told you to! Besides, who would notice you gone? You need to DIE!_

_-Anonymous_

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**Sorry, that was pretty boring. But I hope you liked it! The next chapter is going to be CRAZY! Also, know I have a lot of other stories to finish, but I have a really cool idea for nother one and I just can't not post it. And it's pre-written, so updates should be pretty fast! So it won't interfere with the updating of this story! It will be called 'In My Shoes' and should be posted tonight! Or maybe tomorrow. Also, please check out Chubbypandaz's story! It's amazing! And if you want me to read your story, tell me! Please REVIEW! (Even if you're a guest :) All you have to do is click the button below to make my day! Thanks!**

**Review challenge: Would you rather be a god (if so, which one?), a demigod, or mortal?**


	22. Dinner With the Chases

**OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG! 610 REVIEWS! I'm so excited! I love you guys! So, I would have updated yesterday but I ended up going to a concert with my best friend. It was called Winter Jam! Totally awesome! It had some Christian singers like Jamie Grace, Jason Castro, Matthew West, Toby Mac, and many more! Britt Nicole wasn't there. :( But I literally cannot talk right now because I was screaming so much! Not for the singers, though; the music was so loud, I had to yell to talk to my friend right next to me! Anywho, Happy Belated Valentines Day!**

**The idea for this chapter is from 'Anonymous'! You'll know who you are! Thanks so much! Credit goes to you!**

**HAPPY READING!**

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**Percy**

"Hey, Mom!" I called the next day walking into the house.

I was somewhat in a daze. Today had been one of the funnest days of my life. I have to admit, I was happy I had "declared my undying love for Annabeth" as Thalia had put it. Annabeth was an amazing person, and I wouldn't want anyone but her to be my girlfriend.

It was pretty amusing to put on that little show in front of Rachel and her friends. I could tell that they had been giving Annabeth a hard time, and I was _not _going to let them mess around with her. And she really couldn't afford to get another detention.

"_Percy!" _I vaguely heard Mom say, as though she had already called my name a few times.

"Oh!" I said, snapping out of my thoughts. "Sorry. How was your day?" I asked, walking over to her and giving her a small kiss on the cheek. She ruffled my hair affectionately.

"It was pretty good! At the writing seminar, we were put in partners to work on some writing thing and I was partnered with some really nice guy named Paul..."

She kept talking but I sort of zoned out. 1) She was talking about writing. And 2) She was talking about guys. Not really interesting topics. Don't get me wrong, I love my mom, and I'm happy that she enjoys the things she does, but that doesn't necessarily mean that I have to love those things to.

As she talked, I walked to the kitchen and raided the fridge. On the top shelf, there was some lettuce, broccoli, and carrots. I looked at my mom who was still talking. Maybe she's a giant bunny in disguise. I looked on the next shelf, where there was a platter of fruit and some cheese. On the bottom shelf, though, sat a large ham. Yum! I reached out to grab a little cubed cheese, but a hand gently smacked mine.

"Percy! That's for dinner!" Mom chided.

"Oh. Wait, what's the occasion?" I asked, frowning slightly. She smirked.

"What? We can't just have a nice dinner for the two of us?" she asked, eyebrows raised.

"Nope!" I said, lightly, popping the 'p'.

She gently smacked me on the shoulder.

"So what's the occasion?" I repeated.

She just shrugged. "Nothing much. I just invited some neighbors over for dinner and they obliged. Nothing more to tell."

I looked at her suspiciously. "And which neighbors?" I asked.

"Um, you know, the ones that live next door," she said evasively. I rolled my eyes.

"Wow, imagine that! Neighbors who live next door? That's, like, unheard of!" I said sarcastically.

Just then, the phone rang. I groaned.

"Go get something nice on and have your room cleaned up!" she called, running to answer the phone. I groaned again. My room was one sorry mess. Mom laughed.

"Oh hi, Paul!" she said into the phone. I sighed and walked up to my room.

"It's not like we are all going to be eating in my room," I grumbled, shoving some papers and chip bags under my bed. I hid my dirty clothes in the very back of my small walk-in closet. Slowly but surely as I cleaned-well, more like shoved stuff in hiding places-I could actually start to see the floor of my room. Thank goodness it had been clean when Annabeth had come over.

I took a quick shower and changed into something casual but a little nicer. I tried-keyword _tried_-combing my hair to at least make it lie flat on my head, but it was no use.

I looked at the clock. It read 5:32. It's amazing how time flies even when you're _not _having fun, isn't it?

"Percy!" I heard Mom call.

"Coming!" I yelled back.

I ran downstairs to a hassled-looking Mom. She was trying to carry the ham, a bowl of mashed potatoes, and the platter of fruit and cheese.

"Jeez, Mom! Here, let me help," I said, being the perfect gentleman I was and taking a tray from her.

"Thanks, Perce!"

"No problem!" And I started to help set the table.

At about 6:00 I asked, "So when are they supposed to be here?" The doorbell rang.

"Uh, right about now!" she said, rushing to get the door.

I stayed behind and made the finishing touches to the table. I could hear Mom greeting the neighbors. Strangely enough, I didn't recognize their voices. Until I heard one up close.

"Mama's boy," a voice whispered in my ear. I nearly jumped out of my skin. I turned around and she smirked, looking amused.

"Annabeth! Jeez, don't do that to me!" I exclaimed.

"Awww!" she cooed. "Is big macho Percy afraid of a little, innocent girl like me?"

"Innocent," I muttered. "Yeah right." And so I earned my first slap on the back of the head.

"Hey! Stop that! You're supposed to be nice to me remember? After all, I am your _boyfriend._"

"Exactly!" she said. "Meaning that you are now mine. So that said, I have full ownership over you and therefore I can do whatever I want!"

I rolled my eyes. "_Only _you would think like that?" I sighed dramatically. "What have I gotten myself into?" She slapped me again.

"Annabeth!" came a sharp tone. I had momentarily forgotten about everyone else. But as soon as this stern-looking lady walked in, I saw Annabeth tense up and could sense a protective shell wrapping its way around her. I frowned.

Annabeth wasn't meant to have stress lines on her face at her age. And she wasn't supposed to have to hide herself and be mistrustful and never smile. She was meant to laugh her musical laugh, and smile her gorgeous smile. I had seen them enough times to know that I wanted to see them more often.

"Yes, Sue?" she replied in a hard tone.

"_Mother," _Sue corrected.

"Yes, Mother?" Annabeth amended.

"Apologized to this young man! You do _not _go and smack strangers on the back of the head!" she scolded.

"Um, actually, we know each other from school, ma'am," I said, hoping to get Annabeth out of a little trouble.

"Just as well, it doesn't excuse the rudeness of her actions after you and your mother so graciously invited us into your home for dinner. Now apologize, Annabeth," she added in a cold, demanding tone.

Annabeth turned to me, but kept her eyes to the ground. "I'm sorry, Percy," she mumbled. I smiled warmly at her.

"It's all good," I replied.

Then my mom walked into the room with who I recognized from Chuck E. Cheese's to be Annabeth's dad with two little boys trailing behind him.

"Hello, Annabeth," my mom greeted her kindly.

"Hi, Mrs. Jackson," she replied politely.

Mom waved her hand. "Oh, enough of the formalities! Call me Sally! It's so nice to see you again!"

Annabeth allowed herself a small smile.

"Again?" Sue said sharply. This woman seriously needed to chill! I saw any trace of a smile disappear from Annabeth's face. I sighed inwardly. We'd have to work on this whole smiling and trusting thing.

"Um, I came over once to give Percy his make up work for school one time," she said, not lying bt not quite telling her the whole truth.

"Daddy, I'm hungry!" the two little boys whined quite obnoxiously, tugging on their dad's leg.

"Hold up! First, why don't you introduce yourselves to Mrs. Jackson," Mr. Chase said. They pouted.

"Ugh! I'm Bobby," one said.

"And I'm Matthew," said the other, although it's not like I'll be able to tell the difference.

"Why don't we all sit down?" my mom suggested, and so we did. I'll admit, I was pretty happy that Annabeth ended up sitting next to me. We all said a little prayer and then passed around the food.

"Annabeth, would you like some mashed potatoes?" Sue asked her in a falsely sweet voice.

"Sure. Thank you," she replied quietly.

And then something strange happened. Sue quickly picked up the bowl and made to pass it to Annabeth, but as Sue's hand got closer to her, I felt Annabeth completely tense up beside me. I saw a slight moment of fear flicker in Annabeth's eyes and she cringed slightly, as though expecting to be hit. I instinctively put a protective hand on Annabeth's leg under the table to reassure her. She sent me a quick thanks with my eyes and accepted the bowl as though nothing had just happened. When I looked around, I saw that nobody had caught the exchange, and if they did, they didn't show it.

As Annabeth passed me the bowl I sent her a questioning look. She shook her head.

_Not now, _she seemed to say. _Don't ask._

I nodded slightly.

For the rest of dinner, my mom and Annabeth's parents talked business and careers and all that adult crap that nobody cares about.

Annabeth sat next to me, silently picking at her food. Next to her, the boys were being chastised for throwing food at each other. Annabeth rolled her eyes and groaned slightly. But then she went back to staring into space.

I nudged her gently. She looked up.

"Do they know? About us?" I asked quietly so no one else would hear. She shook her head.

"What's wrong?" I asked her. "And don't lie," I added in a a little accusingly. She got a guilty look in her eyes.

"I really am sorry, Percy. I don't mean to hide things from you. It's hard," she whispered.

"To trust me?" I asked. She nodded.

"You can always trust me anything," I said for what seemed like the billionth time. She sat in silence for a moment. Then she took a deep breath.

"I-I'll tell you one thing..." she started hesitantly, as though the words tasted bad on her tongue. But my heart leapt. She was finally going to open up to me!

"Annabeth! Why don't you eat this lovely food that has been made for us?" Sue interrupted sweetly. But I heard an undercurrent in her tone that added,"Or else."

Annabeth closed up yet again and I wanted to scream in frustration! She was finally going to tell me what was bothering her!

She immediately started shoving food into her mouth so fast, in fact, that she choked. She doubled over and I gently started to pat her back. Bobby and Matthew seemed to get a kick out of seeing her choking. Little brats.

When she finally recovered, her face was a little red and her eyes were watery. I'd be lying if I said that I didn't think she looked kinda cute. Okay, _really _cute.

Then, she started shoving food down her throat again. My mom laughed, but I could see a little worry in her eyes. I guess she could see how much Sue was controlling Annabeth.

"Annabeth, you don't have to eat all of this! I understand if you're not hungry," my mom said kindly. Annabeth looked up apologetically.

"Thank you," she said quietly.

I got an idea a pushed my plate back.

"You know, I must say that I am simply stuffed! While you guys finish up, why don't I give Annabeth a tour of the house?" I suggested, even though Annabeth has already seen the place. She looked up at me gratefully and I smiled warmly at her.

"That's a great idea, Percy!" Mom said. I almost laughed at how obvious she sounded.

"Are you sure? We don't want to bother you any more?" her dad asked.

"It's fine!" I said.

I got out of my seat and she followed.

We went straight up to my room and I closed the door behind us.

"So tell me," I demanded. She still had that guarded look in her eyes. I dragged her over to my bed and sat her next to me. She leaned on me and I slipped my hand into hers. I heard and felt her sigh contentedly.

Then, after a while of silence, she reached and took out her phone. After pressing a few buttons she handed it to me.

As I took in the harsh words, I felt a huge wave of anger and protectiveness build within me. Who could ever do something like this to someone as innocent and sweet as Annabeth? I don't know what overcame me, but suddenly my lips were on hers. And this one was different from the last.

It held her desperation and sadness, as well as my anger and compassion. I wrapped my arms gently around her waist and I felt her arms wrap around my neck. The kiss was more passionate than the last, but it wasn't like some perverted chick flick.

She pulled away for air and I rested my forehead against hers. I wiped a single tear from her cheek.

"Annabeth," I whispered hoarsely. "Annabeth, don't listen to this person! Please don't. I wouldn't be able to live without you! Who wrote it? We have to find out! We can't just let someone say those kind of things to you-" I was cut off my a small peck on the lips.

"Percy, it's okay. I'm strong. I can handle this. I won't listen to them. That would just be stupid," she tried to reassure me.

"Annabeth, everyone has a breaking point. It's not a sin to show it," I told her.

"I know that, Percy. But really, I'll be fine."

I pulled her into a long hug. In my arms, she didn't seem so strong. She felt almost fragile, like a piece of glass ready to break.

I wanted to talk with her some more, but all too soon, a voice called us down. We pulled apart reluctantly.

We started to walk out but she stopped me.

"Percy... I... I-I really l-like you." And she hurried down the stairs before I could say anything.

I slowly went down and said good-bye to Mr. Chase and Sue, but Annabeth had already started walking home.

I went back up to my room and watched as the car pulled out of the driveway.

"I like you too, Annabeth," I murmured into the silence.

I laid down on my bed and repeated the words Annabeth had said to me over and over in my mind as sleep started to take over my body. I drifted off to sleep with a beautiful image of Annabeth in my mind. My sleep was peaceful and dreamless.

Little did I know that that would be the last good night's sleep that I would have for a _long _time.

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**Ew! That was sappy. I personally, didn't like it but I had to do this in order to get the rest to work out how I want. And that was the longest chapter I have ever written for any of my stories so yay! You guys might like it though. I don't know. You tell me! Oh and I am simply astonished at the response I got to my new story called 'In My Shoes'! And interesting... most of y'all wanted to be a demigod. It would be cool to have powers but I'd rather just be a mortal. I have enough mortal drama to deal with than having to deal with drama in two worlds! And being immortal? No way! I would HATE to live forever! That's just my opinion! Thanks for helping me break 600 reviews! Love y'all! REVIEW! (Even if you're a guest!)**

**Review Challenge: If you were demigod, based on your personality, who do you think your godly parent would be?**


	23. The Storm

**I feel so bad for taking so long to update! I've had a minor case of writer's block but I'm over it now. And OMG, I got 57 FREAKING REVIEWS FOR JUST THE LAST CHAPTER! You guys rock! And I think that I would be the daughter of either Athena or Poseidon... or both! Because I'm in the advanced classes but at the same time, I LOVE marine biology and HORSES! Anywho, enough of me! Here's your next chapter! Oh and to 'Kendall': Wow... that review meant so much to me! I smiled so big! I'm really glad you like it!**

**HAPPY READING!**

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**Annabeth**

I woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Actually, I didn't even wake up _on _a bed. I had to freaking sleep on the couch because Dad and Sue had gotten in a fight, and my dad used my room for the night.

I groaned at the thought of having to drag through another day of school. Usually, I love school, but this was just one of those days... Looking back on it, I probably just should have stayed home, buried under the covers.

On top of that, Thalia wouldn't stop texting me and reminding me about the stupid dance which was tomorrow. Big whoop.

But then the thought of seeing Percy today brightened me considerably. I quickly got out of bed, er, _couch _and crept into my room silently to grab some clothes.

After taking everything that I needed from the room, I left quietly, so as not to wake Dad.

I got ready quietly, the eerie silence of the house creeping through my bones after the loud shouts from last night.

I remember that I was just hanging out in my room, thinking about dinner with Percy which had been... um, interesting. But it had been about eleven o'clock at night, when I started to hear raised voices. At first, it didn't really concern me, because Sue and my dad had gotten in arguments before. But this was different.

Dad always had this sense of patience about him. But last night he didn't have it. The raised voices quickly rose to shouts, and it didn't take long for them to wake the boys.

They had come running into my room with tears streaming down their face. A small part of me wanted to shun them away. After all, almost every minute that they're around me, they're giving me grief. Why should I be nice to them and give them comfort. But the other part of knew that was wrong. They may be brats, but they are human. I think.

So I had let tem into my room and they climbed on my bed, huddling in the corner with blankets wrapped around them in a protective cocoon.

"What's happening, Annie?" Matthew-or was it Bobby?-cried next to me. He snuggled in closer to me, and I realized that maybe he wasn't really so mad. Maybe his taunting was simply a mask, not unlike the one I have to wear everyday.

"I don't know," I whispered quietly, wrapping my arms around them.

I simply couldn't believe the change in their personalities.

I don't know how long we had been there, me sitting against the wall with Dad and Sue shouting on the other side, before my dad walked in.

He looked at the boys, who had fallen asleep, and then sent me a pleading. Gently, so that I didn't wake them, I picked the boys up and put them in their room.

Then, I waked back to my room, and leaned against the doorway, arms crossed over my chest. Dad was sitting on my bed, his head in his hands.

"You should get some sleep," I had said in a hard voice. He looked up.

"Annabeth, I-" he started, but I held my hand up.

"I really don't want to hear it," I snapped. And then I walked away, leaving him in the cold darkness of my room.

Now, here I was, walking to school, allowing the anger I had suppressed last night to seep into my veins.

How _dare _they put us through that. I suddenly felt like I was the only adult in the family. _I _was the one who had had to stay up and listen to my dad and Sue. _I _was the one that had to comfort to little boys who had always gone out of their way to make my life miserable. _I _was the one that did the chores, made dinner, and looked after Bobby and Matthew when my dad and Sue didn't have time to.

All of this was so stupid!

And now I was tired, having gotten no sleep, and I hadn't even bothered to grab anything for breakfast. Today was _not _going to be a good day.

As I walked to school, I saw the dark thunder clouds overhead, gathering into what I knew would be a huge storm. But it looked beautiful, in a way. An eerie silence seemed to take over the world in a calm before the storm.

I stomped into the school, resigning myself to the fact that I would be here for the next eight hours. Yay.

After going to my locker, I stormed into class, sitting in the corner and trying hard to blend in with the shadows. Of course, that didn't last for long.

Thalia walked-or rather skipped-in, making her usual dramatic entrance. It wasn't long before she spotted me.

"ANNIEEE!" she cried, coming over and giving me a hug. "I missed you!"

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, yeah, that's great. Should we throw a party or something?" I said flatly.

She got a light in her eyes.

"That's a _great _idea!" she exclaimed. Oh great. I grumbled something in response and tried the blending in with the shadows thing again. I took out a piece of paper and started doodling again.

I didn't even realize what I was drawing. I just let my hands do whatever, without really looking or thinking about what I was doing.

Then, of course, _he _walked in. I didn't notice him, until I heard his voice in my ear.

"What's with the broken heart?" his voice said into my eye, this breath leaving my skin tingling. I started.

"Jeez, Percy! Don't do that to me!" I scolded.

He looked amused. But then his face became serious.

"But seriously, what's with the broken heart?" he asked.

"What are you talking about?" I asked him, looking perplexed. Worry flashed in his eyes. He pointed to the picture I had been drawing.

I looked down at it, and really looked at it. It was a heart with cracks all over it. Around the heart, were grey, swirling clouds, brewing into a storm. I guess you could think of the picture as the cracked heart representing an emotional storm, and the clouds portraying a physical one.

"Oh..." I said.

"Annabeth, is something wrong?"

I tried to shrug indifferently. "Just parent problems. It's not a big deal."

He opened his mouth to question me more, no doubt, but then the rest of the gang walked in and I played my part, acting like everything was just fine.

I thought I had succeeded, but then throughout my classes, I caught Percy shooting me concerned looks. I sighed. This was going to be one long day.

I was _so _tired. Physically and emotionally. I don't know why the fight from last night was taking such a toll on me, but it did. I found it hard to concentrate on my classes, and I had to constantly keep myself from drifting off to sleep.

In the halls, I acted normal, and even Thalia couldn't sense anything wrong. But Percy could. I just _knew _he could. He stayed close to me, but I must have made it clear that I didn't want to talk, or maybe he was just waiting for the right time to talk to me.

But his hand never left mine.

Finally, it was the class before lunch, that I finally gave in to sleep. I didn't even realize I had fallen asleep until a hand shook my shoulder.

"Annabeth," the voice said. But I didn't want to wake up. I didn't want to face confusion or pain. I wanted to be left in world of painless dreams.

"Annabeth!" it called again, this time more insistent. Then, as though someone had shot me with an injection, reality came in, bursting within me.

I remembered where I was and sat up with a gasp. Percy, Thalia, Hazel, and my teacher, Mr. Blofis, were all standing around me with worried looks on their faces.

"Are you okay? Are you feeling sick or something?" the teacher asked.

"I'm fine," I said. When they all gave me disbelieving looks, I added,"I just wasn't able to get much sleep last night. I'm really tired." I yawned to prove my point.

They all just stared at me. I was starting to get seriously annoyed. I can't just be tired for once? No. I had to be goody two shoes Annabeth, who always did the right thing.

"I'm serious, guys! I'm _fine,_" I insisted firmly.

Mr. Blofis looked thoughtful for a minute.

"Thalia, Percy, you two wouldn't mind going on ahead while I talk to Annabeth for a moment, would you?" Oh great. And that's where my day goes from bad to worse.

"Sure," they both replied. "Meet you at lunch, Annabeth," Thalia added.

Percy looked into my eyes for a brief second, and we had another silent conversation that went something like this:

Me: _Oh my god, Percy, please help me!_

Percy: _It's going to be okay, Annabeth. I'll wait for you outside. But you _will_ tell me more about what's been bothering you._

Me: _Whatever! I'll tell you anything, just please don't leave me!_

Once he left and closed the door behind him, Mr. Blofis sat in front of me. He and Mr. Brunner were both my two favorite teachers, but they were just too perceptive. I hated how teachers always seemed to be able to read people!

He looked at me. I got the feeling that he wanted me to speak first.

"I'm sorry for falling asleep in your class," I mumbled. "I am more than willing to take any punishment for my actions."

He waved his hand aside.

"I'm not worried about that, Annabeth. I'm worried about _you._"

"You don't need to be. I just didn't get much sleep last night," I insisted. He looked into my eyes.

"And there's a reason behind why you couldn't sleep, am I right?"

Ugh.

"Yes," I said, though I did not elaborate.

"Annabeth, you should talk. It's okay to show your vulnerable side. I will listen and do whatever I can to help, as will Mr. Brunner, Thalia, and Percy."

"Whoa, hold up! _Percy?" _I choked. That was the second time I had been told by a teacher to trust Percy. Fate must not like me right now. Actually, I don't think Fate likes me ever.

He slight smile appeared on his face. "Teachers gossip, too." I groaned.

"I'm not going to push you, Annabeth. It's just something you should think about."

I looked at him and thanked him with my eyes, walking out of the room, using all my willpower not to run. I looked forward to seeing Percy and just hugging him.

But he wasn't there.

I looked both ways down the hall, but he wasn't in sight. I headed to the lunch room, thinking he had just gone on ahead, but, again, he wasn't there. I wandered aimlessly through the halls, wondering where he was and why he left me.

Then it hit me. Maybe he was outside at the picnic tables. Though why he would want to be out there in the brewing storm was a mystery to me.

I walked out of the building.

And he was there alright. Oh, he was _definitely _there.

I had turned around the corner just in time to see his lips connect with Rachel's, before I turned and ran. I didn't let him see me. I went straight to the office and signed out sick.

Everything was a rush, a blur. The red hair, her smile, their lips-everything.

I let myself out of the building and ran. And as I did I felt it-I felt the storm break loose, ripping through my soul, coming out in a scream of pure agony.

So many things, so many emotions that had just been gathering in me exploded. And just as my storm let loose, thunder clapped and rain started to fall. It seemed symbolic, like something out of a movie.

But I didn't care. All the trust that I had started to feel, slowly but surely, towards Percy washed away with the tears and the raindrops.

Everything before this-it had all just been the calm before the storm.

And now the storm was finally here.

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**I hope you guys weren't disappointed in this chapter! I really did try! I am simply amazed at the response I got for 'In My Shoes'! I mean, 40 reviews for the first two chapters?! So I did this thing in school (a few years back) where we had to think of a question to ask our class. The question had to be simple, with one answer and the answer should make us know about the person even if we don't know who they are. It's hard to explain, but it's like what I did for the review challenge. The people whose answer was Athena, well, I know that you guys are probably really smart and maybe have blond hair and grey eyes. Or the Apollo people like music and poetry. But it was really cool to try that on you guys!**

**OMG, I just started reading Divergent by Veronica Roth and I am IN LOVE! I'm already half way through it and I just got it today! And why am I babbling? Oh yeah, it's because I'm stalling because I don't want to go to sleep. *sighs dramatically* Great, now my mom is getting mad! Peace out!**

**Oh and to 'allen r': I will not be changing the rating to M for depression. Not all stories are pure fluff and if that's what you want then go and read one of the billion unrealistic and sickly sweet stories out there. I write to let out my feelings. **

**REVIEW! (Even if you're a guest!) Honestly, I can't believe I got 57 for the last chapter...**


	24. Worst Chapter That I've Ever Written

**I am so sorry that it's taken so long! Fanfiction was killing my grades and I went from all A's to B's and being in the advanced classes, I couldn't really afford that. Also, I decided to hang out with friends and family a little more since I've sorta been neglecting them. :( But all is well, because I'm back now and simply ASTONISHED by the review/favs/follows! Not to mention that I've gotten almost 100 reviews since the last chapter! Anwho, I love you guys so much, and I'm sorry if the chapter sucks because this was really hard to write! And I'm not even gonna tell you to review, because you guys have already given me more than I ever thought I'd get!**

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**Percy**

I was standing outside of the classroom while Mr. Blofis talked to Annabeth when a hand grabbed my arm.

"Whoa!" I said, resisting the tug. The person stopped and faced me, eyes flashing. Rachel. I sighed. She just doesn't know when to give up, does she?

"Rachel, I really can't talk right now," I said in exasperation.

"Percy, I just wanna tell you something," she said, rolling her eyes. She tried to pull me farther away from the room. I planted my feet to the ground.

"Tell me right here," I demanded, crossing my arms. She sighed.

"Percy!" she whined. "We'll only be gone for a few seconds! But I _need _to tell you something! And it can't be said right here! It's about Annabeth."

The second Annabeth's name flew out of her mouth, sirens sounded in my head. But I sighed and let her drag me out to the picnic tables. I was kinda curious to see whatstupid lie she was going to say about Annabeth now.

When we got to the tables, I looked anxiously towards the building that we had just come from.

"Oh, come on! Sleeping Beauty won't even notice you're gone! She's probably too busy getting over the shock of falling asleep in class for the first time," Rachel said, rolling her eyes.

I turned on her.

"If you brought me out here just to make fun of Annabeth, then I'm leaving," I said firmly, starting to get up.

But she grabbed my hand and pulled me back down. She sat close to me, which made me feel pretty uncomfortable.

"Well..." she started.

But I was good at reading body language. And it looked to me like she was trying to come up with something to say, rather than already knowing what she wanted to say.

"Rachel, I really don't have time for this," I said.

"Wait!" she shrieked.

"What?!" I said, getting angry now.

She looked at me with a glint in her eyes and then leaned forward.

Oh no... I knew Rachel was low and stupid, but she wouldn't really do this would she?

But she did. Before I could even react, she slammed her lips onto mine. Like any other guy, I went with it at first, but once it hit me, I started to resist, pushing her back.

But the weird thing was that we I got her away from me, she didn't look disappointed or even mad.

She looked triumphant, though I didn't know why.

"Thanks, Percy!" she said happily, and then stood up and walked away.

I stared after her, mouth agape, dumbfounded. What the heck was that all about? I looked around me, but the space was filled with an eerie emptiness. I saw the dark, heavy clouds swirling above me, and I was reminded of the picture Annabeth had been drawing this morning.

_Annabeth!_

I had forgotten about her for a second. I bet she was waiting for me! I quickly strode back to the classroom, but it was empty.

I shrugged figuring that Annabeth had just gotten impatient and headed to the lunch room to sit with the gang. I would have.

So I ran to the cafeteria and headed to our usual table. Thalia, Grover, Nico, Hazel, Frank, Leo, Jason, and Piper were there but... no Annabeth. I frowned.

"Guys, have you seen Annabeth?" I asked.

They all looked up.

"We figured she was with you," Hazel said.

"Yeah, and I figured she was with you guys," I told them.

"Weren't you waiting for her outside the room?" Frank asked.

"Yeah, but I was ambushed by Rachel and when I came back, the room was empty," I said.

We all thought for a second.

"Well, I'm sure she'll turn up in a little bit," Grover reassured.

But I sat there anxiously and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

But she never showed.

As we were walking back to class, I finally couldn't take it anymore.

"Guys, I'm going to the office to see if they know where Annabeth is," I blurted out.

They nodded in understanding and I headed to the office.

"Do you know where Annabeth Chase is? We haven't been able to find her and we were getting kinda worried," I asked the lady.

"Um, hold on, let me see," she said, typing some things in on the computer. After a minute of searching she looked up at me.

"She's not here anymore. She signed out sick awhile ago," she informed me.

I frowned. That wasn't like Annabeth at all. She would never leave school early just because she felt sick. nd she didn't seem sick. Distracted, maybe, but not sick.

For the rest of the day, I couldn't concentrate on my work. None of this seemed to make sense! It was just so unlike Annabeth. When I told Thalia about Annabeth, she freaked.

"WHAT? But the dance is tonight!" she whined. Then she got a light in her eyes. "Annabeth I faking so that she won't have to go. I just know it!"

But that still didn't seem right.

The day felt frozen in time, but at the same time, couldn't go by any faster. As soon as I got to home room at the end of the day, I pulled out my phone and called Annabeth. But she didn't answer. I texted her. But she didn't reply. Thalia did the same, but got the same results.

I really started to worry.

So when I walked home, I went right past my house and marched straight up to Annabeth's. I pounded the door. No answer. So I pounded again. Nothing. I knocked yet again.

Then, suddenly, the door flew open and a pair of hands slammed into my chest, making me stumble backwards.

"Whoa!"

"HOW DARE YOU COME HERE!" a voice screeched.

I looked into the stormy eyes that I could hardly recognize because of the amount of anger behind them. Raindrops were falling on me, but I didn't care.

"Annabeth, what-?"

"DON'T TALK TO ME! How could you do this to me, Percy? I TRUSTED you!" she screamed, pounding hard on my chest. I grabbed her wrists.

"Annabeth, what did I do? Please tell me what's wrong!" I said, worriedly.

"You don't even know what you've done wrong?" she yelled, eyeing me incredulously.

I racked my brain, trying to think of what could have happened to make her so angry, but I came up empty.

"If it's about me being too nosy about what's happening to you at hom, then I'm really sorry, but-"

"You don't know," she whispered, hurt filling her eyes. "You don't even know," she repeated.

Tears started to leak out of her eyes, but she ignored them.

I stepped forward to wrap my arms around her, but her fists slammed into me again.

"Don't EVER come back here again! I can't believe you! I was starting to trust you! I actually liked you, Percy! I HATE you!" she screamed with what seemed like everything she had and then slammed the door in my face.

I didn't know what to do. So I left.

* * *

**Annabeth**

I slammed the door in his annoyingly handsome face.

I hate him.

I hate him.

I hate him!

How could he hurt me like that, and just pretend that he didn't know what he had done wrong? How could I have been so stupid enough to trust him? How could I believe that there could have ever been something between us? And I could I have believed hat maybe my happily ever after had come?

I was an idiot. Life's not a fairytale, and I shouldn't believe in happily ever after. I should have seen that he would turn out to be just like all the other guys.

I wiped the tears from my face, trying to pull wat was left of myself together.

The doorbell rang.

"WHAT?" I yelled, opening the stupid door. It was Thalia.

"Whoa! What's wrong with you?" Thalia demanded, marching straight pass me and raiding the kitchen.

"Thalia, did I say you could come in?" I snapped rudely. "No, I didn't, so get out," I said before she even had a chance to reply.

She looked at me.

"Jeez, Annie, I know you didn't want to go to the dance and all, but seriously, take a chill pill!"

"Thalia, I'm not in the mood for this! Get out!"

I know it wasn't fair to let my anger out on Thalia, but I couldn't take this.

"No," she replied simply.

"No? Thalia, this is my house. I don't want you here. So leave!"

A hurt look crossed her face, and I felt a twinge of guilt. It's almost impossible to make Thalia feel hurt and here she was being hurt by her best friend.

"Thalia, I'm sorry. I didn't mean that," I said quietly. She looked down.

"Annabeth, what happened to you today," she asked quietly.

I just looked at her, and slid to the ground, holding my head in my heads. I heard her walk towards me cautiously, and she placed a gentle hand on my shoulder.

"Annabeth. Tell me," she said, her voice impossibly soft.

I couldn't hold it back. I had been keeping too many secrets lately, holding too many lies. It was time to let this one go.

So I did. I told her what I had seen today. I watched her carefully. I could see fury building up within her eyes. After I finished she said, "That's it, I am going to strangle Percy Jackson right now!"

"No! I mean, as tempting as that sounds, no. Don't tell anyone, Thalia!"

"But Annie!" she protested.

"No," I said firmly. "If the news gets out that Percy cheated on me, Rachel will never let me hear the end of it. I can't give that satisfaction to her!"

After several more arguments, she finally relented.

"Fine. I won't tell anyone, but you are going to have some fun tonight," she told me.

"What?" I asked, confused.

"Remember, you promised to go to the dance!" Thalia reminded me. I shook my head.

"No way! I can't go! Percy will be there! I don't want to see his face tonight!" I complained.

"Oh boo hoo! Cry me a river, build a bridge, and get over it! You're coming. Be at my house at six," she commanded and walked away before I could protest.

I just stared after her.

* * *

**A Few Hours Later**

The door opened and Sue walked in with the boys.

"Make dinner," was the first thing she said to greet me.

"I was about to go to Thalia's house," I protested. She looked at me.

"Did I say that you could go?" she snapped.

"I'm going to a school dance tonight. Dad said I could go," I told her.

She thought for a moment, then sauntered forward with an evil smile on her face.

"Well, guess what? Your dad is working late tonight. He called and told me. And while he's gone, I am the boss in this house. So you will do whatever I tell you to do, and if I say you can't go, you won't," she spat.

I opened my mouth to protest, but she kept talking.

"So now, you are going to make dinner and watch the two boys while I go out and spend time with my friends for a little while. You are not to leave the house, touch my stuff, use the computer, or going into my room. What you will do is make dinner, vacuum the house, do me, Matthew, and Bobby's laundry, clean the bathroom, and do the dishes. And if when I get back those things aren't done, well, you remember what will happen."

I had a feeling that by "spend time with friends my friends for a little while" she meant "go to a bar and get drunk."

I sighed. But I was going to the dance. Maybe I didn't want to go, but Sue wasn't going to control me.

"I'll be back by midnight," she said, before walking out the house.

At six o'clock while I was eating dinner, Bobby spoke up.

"Annabeth, we heard what Mommy said. Do you want to go to the dance?" he asked me.

I stared at him. "Of course I do, but I have to watch over you two."

"No, we want you to go. We have been very mean to you. Go to the dance."

I stared at them. They had really changed overnight. What happened to the little demons?

"That's very sweet, but I have to do chores and keep an eye on you and-"

"We'll do your chores! And we can take care of ourselves!" they protested. I smiled at them.

But then the doorbell rang. I groaned.

I opened the door and Thalia strode in.

"What's taking you so long? Everyone's waiting!" she complained.

"I'm sorry, Thals, but I can't go. Sue is making me stay home and do chores and watch the boys," I told her.

She narrowed her eyes at me. "You're lying so that you won't have to go, aren't you?

"No, I'm not! Honest!"

"We'll do the chores!" the kids insisted.

"I can't leave you guys alone!" I snapped.

"Annabeth, you have to come!" Thalia whined.

"SHUT UP!" I yelled.

Everyone looked at me.

"Fine, I'll come, but what do I do with the boys?" I asked her.

"Easy! Get Calypso to babysit!" Thalia said. Calypso is our neighbor.

"But isn't she going to the dance?" I asked.

Thalia shook her head. "Nope! Hold on, I'll call her."

Before I could say a thing, she dialed a number and started talking to Calypso. While they conversed, I tapped my foot with a sort of nervous energy.

After nodding a final time, Thalia hung up and looked at me with an excited glint in her eyes.

"Looks like you're coming to the dance, whether you like it or not!"

* * *

**OMG, this is officially my worst chapter EVER! I am SOOOOOO sorry! I feel so bad... it was rushed and lacked a sense of its usual deepness. And it was so boring! I apologize guys! But I mostly have the next chapter planned out in my head and I seriously hope that it's better than this one. I know it's bad, so please don't tell me it is. But I guess every writer has their good chapters and their bad ones. But I feel like I just let a whole bunch of people down.  
:( To make up for it, I'll try to get the next chapter out before the weekend is over. I love you guys! I wouldn't even feel right asking you to review after that horrible chapter. So sorry!**

**On a happier note, I finished reading Divergent in one day. I'm reading it for the third time and I only got it four days ago! I AM OBSESSED! I found the book through fanfiction, so now I'm spreading the joy. READ IT! It's by Veronica Roth!**

**Again, I'm so sorry for the chapter! Next one will be better!**


	25. The Dance

**IMPORTANT: Okay, so right after I posted my last chapter, my little laptop overheated. So now I have no computer to type up my stories. Just great. Anywho, now I'm using my friend's iPad, which is really challenging because I've never used an iPad before, and I am SICK of auto-correct! But the only way for me to update is if I use my mom's laptop (which I won't be able to use very often), go to the library, or if my friends take pity on me and let me use their computer. I am so sorry that I won't be able to update as often! I will try everything I can to get my chapters out there as quickly as possible! I am more disappointed than anybody and I literally almost started crying, I was that upset!**

**Also, thank you so much to everyone who reviewed my last chapter and told me that I did good. That meant a ton! And to Bluestar4ever: Thank you sooo much! I think you're right. It was pretty out of my comfort zone, and writing from Percy's POV is always hard, seeing as I'm a girl! Thanks again!**

**Another thing: I plan on this story going to anywhere on or between 30 and 35 chapters, so we don't have too much of this story left. If the rest of this is a little rushed, then I am so sorry! **

**On a happier note: YOU GUYS ROCK! I just thought I'd get that out there! 818 freakin' reviews! I can't believe it! Love ya guys! Enough of me, let's get to the chapter if you haven't skipped to it already!**

**HAPPY READING!**

* * *

**Annabeth**

"You're going to dress me up as WHAT?!" I shrieked.

Calypso had gladly said that she would babysit Matthew and Bobby, and I had explained to her about Sue not knowing about me leaving. I also told her that I would be back by 11:45, right before Sue would get home at midnight.

Now, I was standing next to Thalia's bed, and the girls were looking at me with highly mused expressions on their face.

"Oh, come on, Annie! Don't be such a baby!" Thalia chided. "Your costume's hanging in the bathroom. Go and get changed so Piper and Silena can put some makeup on you!"

I crossed my arms.

"No," I said shaking my head. "Absolutely not! I am not going to the dance as Tinkerbell! Oh, and don't call me Annie! And besides, aren't we only allowed to wear Christmas costumes?"

Thalia snorted. "Screw that! What's the fun in that? Then everyone will end up wearing basically the same thing! We'll totally stand out!"

"That's what I was afraid of," I muttered.

Thalia pouted. "Please!" she asked, dragging the word out and making a puppy dog face. I rolled my eyes.

"You know your puppy dog faces don't work on me!" I snapped.

Hazel, Piper, Bianca, and Silena gasped.

"What?" I asked them.

"Thalia said '_please_'! Annabeth, that _never _happens! Now you _have _to do it!" they said. Then they all made puppy dog faces.

"Oh my gosh, what is wrong with you people?!" I said, throwing up my hands in exasperation. "Fine, I'll wear it, if it means so much to you!"

"It does!" Thalia said happily.

"Idiots," I muttered, walking into the bathroom.

I slipped the costume on, wondering what I had gotten myself into. I absolutely refused to wear the freaky little sandals with sequins all over them, so I slipped a pair on converse on. I saw that my locket had gone to the outside of my shirt where anyone could see it, so I quickly stuffed it to the inside. I also tucked my hair into a hood, since my hair was too recognizable.

I walked out and was met with a bunch of laughter. They all stopped when they saw me. Their eyes widened and they started laughing again. I crossed my eyes and tried to look stern, which was pretty hard when you're dressed as an elf.

"See? That's why I didn't want to wear this hideous thing!" I said, frowning.

When the laughter died down, Bianca said,"You don't look bad! It's just that we never thought we'd see you of all people dressed as Tinkerbell!"

"Exactly! So now my reputation is going to be ruined! People aren't supposed to know I have a sunshine and rainbow side of me!" I joked.

Laying on the bed, I saw two masks, a white one and a black one. I got an idea. I picked up the black one.

"Ah ha! A mask! Now no one will know it's me dressed up like this!" I said happily. Thalia rolled her eyes.

"Fairies don't wear masks! Besides, it's not like you're going to be the only one dressed up like a fairy. Me, Hazel, Piper, and Bianca are going as them, too!"

"That's great, but I'm wearing the mask whether you like it or not!" I insisted.

"Fine then. But if you're going to wear one, then wear the white one. The black one makes you look like a fairy who decided to go goth," Thalia told me.

"Oh, that's nice! And it does not make me look goth!" I protested, but nevertheless, I picked up the white one and slipped it on. "Oh, that's _much _better! I'm ready when you guys are!" I announced.

"Annabeth, no one can see your face! Don't you think that's kinda creepy?" Hazel asked. I rolled my eyes.

"That's the point! No can will know it's me, and they probably won't ask me to dance or anything if they can't see who I am," I pointed out. Piper sighed.

"Whatever floats your boat."

"By the way, where's Juniper? I thought she was going to be here? She's one of the one's who annoyed me most while trying to convince me to come!" I said.

"Oh, she got sick. I feel really bad for her. She was really looking forward to hanging out with Grover. And I'm gonna tell her what you said about her being annoying!" Thalia said mischievously.

"You wouldn't!" I said, narrowing my eyes at her.

"I know! I just thought it would be funny to see you panic!" I threw a pillow at her.

For the rest of the time, we talked and joked about random stuff. We teased Thalia about her secret crush on Nico ("I do _not _have a secret crush on Nico, and if you don't shut up, I will _crush _your face!"), laughed at the stack of old homework papers that I had found stuffed under Thalia's bed ("Well, it's not my fault that I actually have a life!"), and giggled ourselves breathless when we saw that Thalia had immaturely drawn mustaches and beards on Leo, Grover, Nico, and Frank's pictures in the yearbook ("Personally, I thought they looked much more manly that way.").

Hanging out with these amazing people who had always been there for me, I could almost forget about Percy. I could almost forget that Sue would literally kill me if she found out that I was going to the dance. I could almost forget that I would have to serve detention with Rachel soon, and that there was a deep, empty ache in my heart. Almost.

The weight seemed the bear down on me more and more every minute, but I just kept pushing it away. I was determined to have a fun night for once.

"All right guys! It's time to go!" Silena squealed.

Thalia whooped and skipped to the car.

I smiled slightly, shaking my head, and followed my crazy friends out to the van.

_What did I ever do to deserve such amazing friends? _I thought to myself.

* * *

**Percy**

"Hey, man! What's up?" Nico said as I walked into his house.

"Nothing much," I said glumly.

"What's wrong?" Grover asked, easily picking up on my mood.

I started to say something, but Nico cut me off.

"Hold on! Let's talk about it in my room over chips and dip. Chips and dip always makes the world seem like a better place, even when it's not."

I laughed at that. I could always count on Nico to use humor even when there was nothing funny about a situation.

Soon, we were all in his room, eating the snack, while I told the guys about Annabeth going crazy.

"So now she hates me and I still have no idea what I did wrong," I finished.

A thoughtful silence greeted my speech. After awhile, Nico finally said, "Wow, that really sucks, man."

"Nah, ya think?" Leo said, rolling his eyes. "Nice detective work, Sherlock."

Nico pouted and stuck his tongue out at Leo. Leo grabbed a pen an stabbed his tongue with it. Nico yelled and Jason, Leo, and Frank guffawed. But then they became serious again.

"Sorry, man. I wish I knew what to tell you but I really don't. I'm as clueless as you are," Jason said.

"Me too," said Frank.

"Me a hundred and three!" put in Nico.

"And I'm single," Leo added glumly.

"Do you think that Annabeth will end up coming to the dance?" I asked them.

They shrugged.

"I honestly don't know. She promised she would, but if she's as mad as you say she is then I doubt it. And even if she hadn't gotten mad, it would have been pretty hard to get her to come anyway, even though she promised. You'll just have to see," Grover said.

"That's the problem. I _don't _want to see her while we're there," I grumbled.

"I sure don't envy you," Leo shuddered. "That chick is _scary _when she's angry."

"Ain't that the truth. Anywho, we should get our costumes on," Nico suggested.

"Okay. What are we wearing?" I asked curiously. Anything to get my mind off of Annabeth.

Leo smirked. "I'm going as Superman. Jason is going as Spiderman, Frank is going as Santa, Nico is going as Hades, and you're going as Batman."

I choked on my drink.

"What? I thought you could only wear costumes that have to do with Christmas things?" I protested.

"That's what _I _said!" grumbled Frank.

"So what? That's no fun! We'll end up looking like everyone else!" Nico explained enthusiastically.

"And you don't think we'll get kicked out? Dude, Mrs. Dodds is the main person in charge of the whole thing! She'll kick us out. Literally."

"Ah, but Leo and I have that all taken care of!" Nico said, with a look of triumph on his face. I raised an eyebrow.

"Oh?"

"Well, you know how Mrs. Dodds is a witch, right?" Leo said. I nodded.

"Well, we figured that because of that, no one ever gives her presents, so we got her one," he continued.

With a wicked smile on his face, he pulled a package out from under the bed. "Ta da!" he said, proudly showing it to me. I leaned forward to get a good look and nearly choked at what I saw.

The picture on the front of the package showed a little girl wearing a witch costume.

"Oh. My. Gosh. You aren't seriously going to give that to her, are you?" I asked incredulously.

Nico and Leo looked at me blankly while Frank, Jason, and Grover tried to hold their laughs in.

"Of course we are! Why wouldn't we?"

"Uh, dude, you don't give the meanest teacher in the school a witch costume. That's a complete insult!"

"Well, yeah, that's why we got her some chocolate and flowers to go with it!" Nico said, as though it all made perfect sense. He pulled out a Hershey bar and a small bouquet of flowers.

"You know what, I'm just not gonna say anything anymore. You guys are weird," I informed them.

They looked at me blankly again.

"You just figured that out?"

After we all got our costumes on, we joked around while we waited until it was time to leave. We teased Nico about having a secret crush on Thalia ("I do _not _have a secret crush on Thalia, and if you don't shut up, I will _crush _your face!") Then, we laughed at an old science project and a stack of algebra homework we found under Nico's bed ("I _do _have a life to live outside of school, you know!"), and we all cracked up at the glasses Nico had drawn in to every nerdy person's face in the yearbook ("I thought it went well with them!").

Being here with these people who I had only recently met, I felt like I had known them my whole life. They knew how to cheer me up and how to keep my mind off of life. I could almost forget about Annabeth. I could almost forget about what Rachel did to me today. Almost. Even though _I _didn't kiss _her_, I still felt weighed down with the information.

But I tried to ignore it. I was determined to have a good time with my friends tonight.

"Yo, guys, it's time to go!" Jason finally announced.

As we headed out to the van, Nico and Leo skipped, talking to each other in Irish accents.

Shaking my head, I thought to myself, _What did I ever do to deserve such crazy friends?_

* * *

**At The School**

"Percy, don't forget your black mask!" Nico reminded me, holding it out.

"Oh yeah! Thanks!" I said, taking it from him and slipping it on.

As we walked towards the building, we got a ton of weird looks.

"Guys, people keep looking at us strangely," I muttered.

"They're just jealous!" Leo said loudly. People gave us even weirder looks after that. Yay. I heard a sputtering noise behind me. I turned around to see Frank picking something off his tongue.

"Dude, what are you doing?" I asked.

"Um, I got some of Santa's beard in my mouth," he said sheepishly.

We cracked up. We got to the entrance, and without looking up, Mrs. Dodds said, "Five dollars each."

Nico looked at Leo. Leo looked at Jason. Jason looked at me. And I looked at Frank.

We forgot the money.

Frank shrugged. "All I have is Canadian currency." He took it out of his pocket.

Nico snatched it away and handed it to Mrs. Dodds. "Here you go!" he said casually.

It looked like Mrs. Dodds was about to fall for it, but the her eyes narrowed and looked up at us.

"This is Canadian currency," she said in a deadly voice.

"Oh really?" Nico said, feigning surprise. "Now, that's weird, because I could have _sworn-"_

"Give me American money or peris- I mean leave," she said. I did my best not to look terrified.

"Uh, Mrs. Dodds, guess what? It's almost Christmas, right? Well, we got you present!" Leo said brightly.

"A present," she stated flatly. "That's great, _now give me the money!"_

"Now, see here, Mrs. Dodds. It's chocolate! Who doesn't love chocolate? Oh, and we've got some flowers!" he said, brandishing the bouquet at her. Her eyes widened and she sneezed loudly.

"I'm allergic to flowers!" she said, sneezing again. "Get those things-AH CHOO!-away from me!" She sneezed again. Wow, I had no idea that allergic reactions could happen that fast.

Leo didn't move.

"I-AH CHOO!-said 'get those away from me'!" Leo still didn't move. Mrs. Dodds was so overcome by sneezes that she just ran off.

"Merry Christmas, Mrs. Dodds!" Leo and Nico called after her sincerely. Then they turned to us.

"Well, that was easier than I thought," Nico stated.

I laughed as we walked right in, but I made a mental note to pay the school back eventually.

I saw a buffet table with desserts and punch in the middle of the gym. There was actually a disco call hanging from the ceiling and a DJ sat at the end of the room, taking in song suggestions. People all around us were yelling and screaming, but they all looked crazy with their costumes on. There were about fifty Santa's and twice the number of elves. I saw a few Mrs. Claus, but one group stood out the most.

They were standing in a corner and it looked like they had just entered the gym. They were girls who were dressed as... fairies? Wait, that can't be right.

"FOOD!" Leo and Nico yelled, gravitating towards the table before I could say anything.

I sighed and followed them.

"Perce, it looks like we weren't the only ones who thought of not dressing up in something Christmas-y," he muttered, nodding towards the same group I had been looking at.

"I noticed them, too," I said, staring. As I watched, the group dispersed, one heading towards where we were, and the others wandering around the floor.

Jason nudged me. "Dude, one of them is coming this way. Act cool!"

I laughed and grabbed a brownie straight off the tray, totally disregarding the tongs that we were supposed to use to pick it up.

"Um, you do realize the tongs are there for a reason, right?" a voice chided behind me. I turned around to see who had spoken to me. It was _her. _The fairy girl. She had a slight smile on her face, telling me that she was only joking.

I laughed.

"Yup!" I said, plucking another mini brownie off the tray and putting it straight into my mouth. She wrinkled her nose.

A sudden image of Annabeth's face when she'd see me drinking milk right out of the jug flashed through my mind. This girl made the same face. But I shook the thought out of my head. I did _not _want to think about Annabeth right now.

"That's gross!" she exclaimed. I just laughed. Then it fully hit me that she was wearing a mask.

"Um, you're supposed to be a fairy, right? So why are you wearing a mask?" I asked her.

She shrugged. "I just wanted to be different," she said simply.

"I think you would have accomplished that even without the mask," I pointed out. She just shrugged again.

"So what's up with the Batman costume?" she shot back.

I shrugged. "I just wanted to be different," I mocked. She smacked me on the shoulder lightly, not unlike the way Annabeth used to.

"Want something to drink?" I asked her. She nodded.

"Sure, thanks!"

We walked over to a corner of the room, and sat against a wall. She looked around somewhat awkwardly. I smirked.

"Dances aren't really your type of thing, are they?" I asked.

She looked down sheepishly. "Not really."

I laughed. "Don't worry, I'm not really into them, either."

We sat in a comfortable silence for a little bit. Then I asked,"So what grade are you in?"

"I'm a sophomore. You?"

"Same. What class?"

"Brunner. You?"

"Same here! What's your name?" I asked.

"That's for me to know and you to find out," she said mysteriously. "What's _your _name?" she asked.

"That's for me to know and you to find out," I said in the same mysterious voice. She smacked me lightly again.

"Do you want to dance?" I blurted out before I even got the chance to think about what I was saying. I groaned inwardly. What have I gotten myself into? She looked at me in surprise.

"Sure, but I've got no idea how," she told me.

"Awesome! Neither do I. We'll be perfect together!" She laughed, and I helped her up. Then, we walked out onto the dance floor and I placed a hand on her waist.

"Just act like you know what you're doing," I stage whispered. She laughed again.

We danced, tripping on each other's feet and laughing when her wings hit some guy in the face.

Time flew by, and I hated it. I loved her laugh, though it reminded me so much of Annabeth's. I loved the way her face wrinkled up when I did something she didn't approve of. I lost myself, and forgot all of the drama from the past few days. It felt nice.

But then, the bell sounded, signaling to us that it was midnight-the dance was over. I saw her eyes jerk up to the clock on the wall, a panicked look in them. She gasped wildly and took off.

* * *

**Annabeth**

_Sue is going to kill me._

_Sue is going to kill me._

_Sue is going to kill me!_

That was my only thought as I raced towards the place where Thalia, Hazel, Piper, and Silena were standing.

"Hey, wait!" I heard the mystery guy call behind me, but I ignored him.

I grabbed their arms and started to lead them out the building. But then a hand grabbed my elbow. It was the mystery kid.

"What? I'm in a hurry!" I snapped.

"I never told you who I was," he said, breathless.

I climbed into the car.

"Hurry up!" I told Thalia.

"Wait!" Batman called again.

I looked at him, and he peeled off his mask. Standing outside my car stood the one and only Percy Jackson. I gasped.

"Thalia, go!" I hissed. "Get me out of here, now!" I couldn't look at him a second longer. Anger radiated within me and all the happiness I had felt tonight was gone. Vanished.

His green eyes looked confused.

"Wait, please! Who are yo-"

But we drove off. I leaned my head against the cool window, trying to calm myself.

"Annabeth, I am so sorry," Thalia said. "The time was just going by so fast and I wasn't watching the clock and I should have, and now you're gonna be late and it's all my fault-"

"It's not your fault!" I said. "It was mine! Don't blame yourself!"

My heart rate was increasing and I felt like it was about to burst. I instinctively grabbed for my locket to calm myself down.

But it wasn't there.

I felt around my neck. But there was no chain. It must have fallen off.

I couldn't control myself. I burst into tears.

"Annabeth!" they all cried, alarmed. "What's wrong?!"

"My locket," I choked out. "It's gone!"

* * *

**I'm sorry if the dance was disappointing! I tried my hardest. But YAY! This was my longest chapter ever written for any story! Over 3,000 words not counting the author's note! Yay me! And it took forever! I write all my chapters in one day. I did half of this one my friend's iPad and the other half on my mom's laptop. I worked on this for about five or six hours. :/ So tired! Anywho, Divergent rocks and if you haven't read it, then you haven't lived your life to the fullest! I'm about to read Insurgent and I plan on finishing it before tomorrow! I don't care if I have to stay up til midnight! Sadly, I probably won't be able to update until next weekend. But thanks again, and review! :)**

**Oh and I forgot! For all you Divergent lovers out there, I posted a story for it! It's called 'Just A Mask'. Check it out! :)**


	26. Mind Over Matter

**Hiiii! So, I'm stuck at home with strep throat. Big whoop. And I haven't been really sick in at least 4 years. GR! But as I was doing nothing except for staring wistfully at a picture of my horse which I won't be able to ride today, I decided I would update since my mom isn't home using the computer. Hopefully it will be a nice surprise for those of you who check your fanfiction account right when you get home like I do.**

**On a happier note: Thank you so much for the reviews! Sadly, my computer is permanently broken, so yeah... Anywho, I am touched by all the support I get for this story and all of my other ones. It means so much and it makes me sad to know that it will be ending soon. :( But your encouragement is the best feeling! Thanks for it! I'll shut up now!**

**HAPPY READING!**

* * *

**Percy**

I watched, openmouthed, as the van sped away from me. What the heck was wrong with that girl, whoever she was. I would never know.

As I looked down, the moonlight reflecting off of something metal caught my eye. I reached down to pick it up. The chain sparkled in the faint light. Attached to it, was a beautiful, delicate locket. It was a silver heart-shaped locket with a cross etched into it. A pink rose on a vine wrapped itself around the cross.

With gentle hands, I opened the locket.

Inside on the right, there was a picture of a little girl who was being held by a woman who resembled her. I guessed that was her mom. On the left, a picture showed the same two people, but this time there was a man standing with them; I guessed he was the dad.

The little girl had blond locks that cascaded down her shoulders. She had dark eyes, but the coloring of the picture was faded, so I couldn't tell whether her eyes were brown or really dark grey. She was pretty, and looked somewhat like a small version of Annabeth.

I shook my head. How is it that my thoughts always seemed to travel back to Annabeth? It was silly.

As I closed the locket, I knew-that this locket belongs to the mystery girl I had been with the whole time at the dance. That it belongs to the girl who had made me forget myself for just a little bit. And that it belongs to someone who I had already begun to like from the moment I saw her in the weird costume.

I was going to try to find her.

No, I wouldn't _try_ to find her. I _would _find her.

And I knew just how to do it.

* * *

**Annabeth**

Of three things I was certain:

1) Sue was going to _kill _me. Literally.

2) I had had one of the funnest nights of my life.

3) I spent that night with the person who hurt me most: Percy Jackson.

I tried to hold the tears in, but I just couldn't. Piper and Hazel both spoke reassuring words to me, but I hardly heard them. My locket was gone. The memory of my mom that I had held close to me for so many years-gone. I was nothing without that locket. I was empty.

"Annabeth, what locket are you talking about? I've never seen you wear one," Bianca asked softly. I took a deep breath, and tried to force the words out.

"It's the locket my mother gave me just minutes before she... before she..." I tried to choke the words out. "She gave it to me only minutes before she... left. I haven't taken it off once since she put it on. And now it's gone. It must have fallen off at the dance."

"Annabeth, I'm so sorry," Thalia said.

She actually said my full name. She really meant what she said. They weren't just empty words that people use so often to offer their condolences to me when they find out about my dead mom. No, Thalia's words were full of meaning, telling me that they were always there for me.

"Thanks," I whispered brokenly.

"Maybe we could turn around and see if anyone at the dance has found it. Or maybe if we trace your steps, we'll find it," suggested Silena.

"I have to get home. Maybe if I'm lucky, Sue won't have gotten home yet. And besides, the odds of us finding it are like zero to a trillion," I said, shrugging hopefully.

"You know, for a brainiac, that proportion was so wrong, I could almost call you a stereotypical dumb blond," Thalia smirked.

I smiled softly at her feeble attempt to make me feel better.

It only takes about five minutes to get from the school to my house by car, so we were at home in no time. I nearly cried in relief when I saw that the driveway was empty. But then I looked behind us.

At the last minute, I yelled at Thalia to pull into Percy's driveway, no matter how much the thought sickened me.

"Why did you want me to pull in to _his _driveway?" Thalia hissed with distaste. The others looked confused, and I realized that I had never told them about what I saw Percy doing. But I didn't want to explain it them just now.

"Look," I said, pointing behind us.

Thalia's eyes widened when she saw Sue's car about ready to pull into the driveway.

"What are we going to do? How are you going to be able to sneak past her?" Thalia whispered.

I thought for a second. Hard. As Sue got out of the car, I saw that she was on the phone with someone. I could her talking loudly, words slurred. Drunk, as I had expected. I thought she was going to walk up to the house, until she just leaned against the car and took out a cigarette.

This would be the first and last time I would be thankful that Sue was drunk and smoked.

I had an idea.

"Hazel, can I borrow your black hoodie?" I asked. She nodded and handed it to me.

"Annie what are you doing?" Thalia hissed. I slid the hoodie on.

"Improvising," I told her.

"Oh, gee, thanks for elaborating. I understand perfectly now," she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. I rolled my eyes and got out of the car, praying that this would work.

"Oh, and don't call me Annie!" I whispered, before closing the door.

I tucked my blond hair into the hood, marched straight up to Sally Jackson's house, trying to make it look natural.

"Hey! You there!" I heard Sue's voice call towards me from the driveway which was only right next to me. I kept walking.

"Hey! Have some manners! Help me carry in these groceries, will you?" she called nastily.

Haha. Yeah right. I just kept walking, and walked right into the house. Sally was nice, and I'm sure she'd understand. But when I walked in, I hadn't been counting on the fact that Sally was watching a movie with... with... Mr. Blofis?

She was laughing and had a huge smile on her face as she gently smacked him on the shoulder.

I didn't want to interrupt, but this was a life or death situation. I almost laughed aloud at how ridiculous-however true-that sounded.

I cleared my throat. Both froze and turned in my direction.

"Annabeth? What are you doing here?" both asked at the same time.

I stood there awkwardly.

"Uh... okay, so something crazy happened, which led to another crazy thing happening, which led me here, and if I don't go through your back door and into my house through my back door, something even crazier is going to happen," I said in a jumbled rush.

They just blinked at me.

"But why-?" I cut Sally off.

"I really don't have time to give details, and I may or may not explain later, but I _really _need to go now."

I didn't even wait for a response. I just ran out their back door, and jogged to my house. I was infinitely thankful for the wooden gate that stood between my house and Percy's.

I could also hear Sue's voice still, so luckily, she was still outside. I got to the back door of my house and turned the knob.

But the door wouldn't open. I tried again. Nothing. The stupid thing was locked. I pounded desperately until finally, _finally, _Calypso opened the door.

"There you are!" she cried. "I was starting to get worried."

"I'm sorry that I'm late! Crazy night! I'll tell you about it tomorrow and pay you tomorrow, but Sue is out front!" I whispered urgently. her eyes widened.

"Where do I go?" she asked.

"Just walk through people's backyards and once you're far enough away, you can walk in front and make it look like you're just taking a walk. I'm so sorry that I'm putting you through this!"

"No, it's okay. Now go!" she said, ushering me inside. "Oh, and the boys are in bed. They did all the chores!"

I waved a hurried thanks and ran into my room.

Just as I closed the door behind me, and started stripping off the Tinkerbell costume-it just now hit me how crazy I must have looked to Sally and Mr. Blofis-I heard the front door open downstairs.

I panicked, slipping a pair of pajama pants on and grabbing the first shirt I could find.

"Annabeth!"

I heard footsteps coming up the stairs. I had a good five seconds to hide the costume. So,naturally, I stuffed it under my bed, before leaping onto the bed and pulling the covers over me.

Sue came bursting in just as I closed my eyes to fake sleep. As her footsteps came closer, I tensed, waiting for her to do something to me.

I tried to control my breathing. And then she grabbed me hair and threw me off the bed. Here we go again.

I just tried to grit my teeth, forcing myself to believe that there wasn't any pain.

_Mind over matter, _I always told myself. If I believed that it didn't hurt, it didn't.

Sue stood over me.

"I called your name! Why didn't you answer?"

"I-I was sleeping," I stuttered.

"'I was sleeping'", she mocked in a high-pitched, squeaky voice. She was mocking me.

"Oh that's mature," I grumbled without thinking. Shiz, my big mouth was going to be the death of me one day. Literally.

She tugged on m hair again. "Get up!" I did, but not because I wanted to. She slammed me into the wall. Again, I didn't really notice the pain. I was used to this.

She leaned in close, her breath smelling heavily of alcohol. I tried my hardest not to gag.

"You didn't do all the chores. Why didn't you do all the chores?" she asked in a deadly quiet voice.

"I did!" I protested, even though it was an outright lie.

"One of your chores was to clean the bathroom and when I went in there, the mirror hadn't been cleaned, nor was the lightbulb changed!"

I could have face palmed right then and there.

Stupid, stupid, stupid!

I should have remembered that Bobby and Matthew wouldn't think about changing the light bulb, and it's not like they now how to or would even be able to reach it. And they wouldn't have been able to reach the mirror either.

"I-I'm sorry! I forgot! I'll go do it now," I said, but I knew it was no use. She slammed me into the wall.

"I'm tired of this, Annabeth! All I ever ask of you is to do little things, but you can never seem to oblige. Why is that?"

"I'm sorry! I try!" She smacked me in the face.

"'I try!'" she mimicked. "You are absolutely pathetic!" She punched my ribs, and I felt the air go out of me. I gasped, trying to get oxygen back into my lungs.

"Why can't you do a few little things for me? I know why. Because you are selfish! And I think you could use a good punch or two to take you down a notch," she said, punching the air out of me again.

Dang, how is she so strong?!

She grabbed a textbook and bashed my head with it. I crumpled to the ground, fireworks exploding in my head.

"Get up, you piece of crap!" she snarled at me. But I couldn't.

Somewhere in the back of my brain, I realized that that was something the anonymous text had said. But I didn't dwell on it. Sue was kicking me in the ribs.

_Mind over matter, _I told myself again.

"Why aren't you crying? Or screaming? You know what will happen if you scream. But don't you want that? We could end all of this quick. Come on, just one little scream," she taunted.

But I knew what she was doing. I remembered her saying awhile back that if I screamed, she would kill me. She was trying to get me to give in. But she wanted it to be my fault. Me screaming is like saying that she can stab me. But she won't do it if I don't scream. No, this is a game to her. She'll cheat by provoking me, but she won't swipe the pieces off the board.

I bit on my lip to contain the pressure that was building up in my chest.

_Mind over matter, _I reminded myself, repeating the single phrase in my head over and over.

She continued to taunt me and hit me. Suddenly, I longed to join Mom. I longed to get away from a life where I was chained to the ground. I wanted to get away from Sue, and from the ever-growing tension between me and Rachel. I wanted to have a sense of peace again. Percy had brought me peace. But I had lost him.

I was about to give in, about to scream.

But then Dad walked in.

* * *

**Eh, not my favorite chapter. It was pretty intense. But don't worry, at the end of the story, she will fight back. I really hope you guys like this! My throat hurts! GRRR! Usually, I love Georgia weather, but it is so bipolar! It's been raining that past few days, and suddenly it's all sunny. I just had to get sick, didn't I? I cannot wait 'til spring though. I want to ride more often! What are you guys looking forward to most about spring? I am sooo bored, so that's why I'm rambling. Sorry about that! Any stories that you want me to read? Or recommendations? I need something to do! Love you guys and I hope you liked the chapter! Please review! (Even if you're a guest!)**


	27. Nightmare

**Hi! What's up guys? I feel a little better. But now I have this horrible cough. Gr. Anyway, who cares? So I discovered something amazing called the reply button on reviews! LOL! I never noticed it before! I'm really stupid. I would have started using that a long time ago if I had known! Thank you to everyone (including guests) who has reviewed! It means the world to me. And omg, 940 reviews?! Is it possible to make it to-dare I say it?-1,000 reviews? Here's the next chapter! I know you've been dying for it!**

**Oh, also if you ever have a birthday coming up, tell me a week in advance and I will try to post a chapter of any story of your choice, whether it has been put on hold or discontinued! It's the least I can do for you being so amazing! But please don't lie just to get another chapter!**

**Happy Reading! :D**

* * *

**Annabeth**

Then, Dad walked in.

Somehow, Sue had managed to reposition ourselves to that we were on the bed. She shoved me back into the pillows. I bit my lip to keep from crying out in pain.

Dad's face wore a look of pure alarm.

"What is going on?!" he said.

Sue froze, and gave me a pointed glare before turning to him, a sickly sweet smile on her face. Dad stepped closer to me, a concerned and angry look on his face.

"What happened to you Annabeth?" he asked.

Before I could even open my mouth, Sue spoke.

"Oh, well, Annabeth, here, was walking home and some kid ran into her on his bike, so she fell and hurt herself pretty bad. I was just helping her clean up her cuts and bruises," she lied smoothly.

I wanted to protest. I wanted to tell Dad what had really happened, but Sue's tightening grip on my arm kept me from doing so. But I was tired. I was tired of telling lies; I was tired of keeping secrets that were just too heavy for one person to keep.

But I had to hold the weight. I truly believed that it was a life or death situation.

Dad walked closer to me, and brushed his finger gently across a bruise forming on my cheek.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

_NO!, _a part of me wanted to scream. But again, I couldn't.

"Of course, Dad," I forced myself to laugh lightly, though the sound was strange, foreign almost, to my ears. "I can handle a few scratches."

He gave me a deep, searching look, as if detecting the lie. I wanted to open up to him. He was my dad after all. But then I remembered how I had to sleep on the couch. I remembered me having to be the adult. I remembered the yells coming through the wall. And just like that, I let my eyes harden, turning stone cold.

"Why don't you guys get to sleep?" I told them.

Immediately, I felt the air become even more tense, and without a word, I grabbed my pillow and a blanket, walked out of the room, and slammed the door behind me.

As I lay on the couch, I let fitful tears run down my face, stinging the cuts on my face, but the pain was easily ignored.

It was the emotional pain that would come to haunt me in the nights.

Could my life get any worse?

Stupid question.

* * *

**Sunday Night**

_Darkness. Darkness everywhere, swallowing me whole, devouring my worst fears and turning them into something real. I was trapped. Again. Inside my own head._

_I tried to run, but it was useless, like a cartoon. My feet were running, but I just wasn't moving. _

_Lightning struck from nowhere, and the electricity went right through me, running through my veins, burning my very being._

_A knife appeared in front of me. It stayed there, gleaming, taunting me as the lightning continued to burn me to nothing. But then I realized it wasn't lightning. It was the white hot pain of being hit by a belt, and the slicing of flesh and broken shards of glass from beer bottles were hurled at me._

_But I couldn't get away from it. _

_No, that's not true._

_The knife. I could end it. It would be easy. Just one blow to the stomach could take it all away. Ending pain with pain. _

_Voices surrounded me, coming closer, whispering in my ear._

_"Do it!" one hissed. I shook my head. I couldn't give in. Not yet._

_"You're weak!" another whispered._

_And then my mom appeared beside the knife, glowing and beautiful, her hand outstretched towards me, inviting me. I reached out to take her hand but an invisible barrier kept me from her._

_And then a wave of desire crashed over me. I yearned for her warmth again. I longed to be in her arms. I just wanted to be loved and wanted again. Was that so much to ask for?_

_"Coward!" a voice called._

_"I am not a coward!" I protested._

_"Then prove it!" they all hissed._

_I looked back and forth between Mom and the knife. The knife was the answer. To be able to reach Mom, I had to first be like her. Dead. _

_Fire burned inside my head and suddenly death seemed like a peaceful thought. Easy. What's the point of living on? Life is hard, complicated, painful. Why should I take the hard route, when there was an easy one, right in front of me, welcoming me with open arms._

_I reached for the knife, and my hand curled around the cold, metal handle. I examined it. It was such an evil object, yet it was used to do such good. You could use it for defense, starting a fire if you scraped it against rock, cutting tree branches and food. But it could also be used for harm._

_I looked Mom in the eye._

_"I love you," I said in a shaky voice._

_I tilted the knife, ready to drive it into me, ready to be reunited with Mom._

_The voices started chanting all around me._

_"Do it, do it, do it!"_

_And then I drove it into me._

I woke, screaming into my pillow. I don't know why I went to crazy, but I did. I kicked my bed, punched the pillows, a wave of madness taking over me.

I had been having that same nightmare for the last few nights. I hadn't left my room for the whole weekend; I had just allowed the nightmare to haunt me, completely take over me.

It was so unlike me to break like this, but Sue had been the last straw. I had wanted to tell my secret so badly, but she had been the one thing stopping me.

As I lay there, trying to take deep, calming breaths, I thought about the knife from my dream. I remembered how in the end I had given in to the voices, given in to death.

And something occurred to me. What if those voices hadn't been other beings? What if they had just been me against myself?

I wondered: If that hadn't just been a nightmare, and there was a knife in front of me, would I have really given in and ended it?

What scared me most was the answer.

Yes.

* * *

**Percy**

I had it all figured out. I knew exactly how I was going to find the mystery girl. It was a simple plan that would only take all of two minutes to carry out.

I walked to school, excited for once. This could work. It had to.

The dance had been one of the best nights of my life. I was able to forget my troubles for a little bit and open up. I was really myself. And then there was Tinkerbell. She was so outgoing. Like she didn't care what the rest of the world thought, as long as she could be herself.

But she had also reminded me so much of Annabeth. Tinkerbell had acted just like I knew Annabeth could act if she would just open up a little bit. But nooooo! Apparently it's all too _complicated._

I held the locket that I had examined so many times over the weekend in my hand. And this locket was the key to everything.

I walked into homeroom.

Out of habit, my eyes flicked to the corner that Annabeth usually stayed in, but she wasn't there. I frowned. Annabeth was _always _one of the first people to class. Thalia, Piper, Hazel, and Bianca were missing too.

Nico and the guys waved me over.

"Yo, Percy! Come on over here!"

"Hey guys! What happened to Annabeth and them? Why aren't they here?" I asked.

Frank shrugged. "No idea. Couldn't care less really. Although, I do wish Hazel was here."

Leo rolled his eyes. "Of course you do."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Frank said defensively.

"It _means _that-"

"Guys!" I interrupted. They turned around to look at me.

"I think I know how to find my mystery girl!" I said enthusiastically.

"Really? How?" Jason asked curiously, eyebrows raised.

"Watch and learn, man," I said, patting him on the back before walking to the front of the class. People turned to stare at me automatically. I waited until I had everyone's attention.

"Um... hi." Yeah, real intelligent, huh? "So, uh, Friday night's dance was awesome, wasn't it?"

Cricket, cricket. I rushed on.

"Well, I know _I _had a good time. The problem is, I don't know who I danced with. She wore a mask the whole time, but told me that she's a sophomore in this class. I really had the best time, and she was running out, she dropped this."

I held up the locket for the class to see.

"I know that it has to belong to someone in here, so if this is yours, please tell me, and I just want to say how much fun I had with you. It really was a night to remember."

There was a moment of silence where the class just stared and Leo, Jason, Nico, and Frank just sat, smirking at me. I looked down awkwardly.

Then, finally, I heard someone say it.

"It's mine!"

I looked up. No. _No way! _It couldn't possibly be...

Rachel Elizabeth Dare?

* * *

**Really short, really creepy chapter, and I know a lot of you are going to hate me now! But it's 1 AM! I'll try to post another chapter tomorrow! Anywho, I have really exciting news! I have made an account with Chubbypandaz! We posted our first story called "Hidden Secrets" and I think it's pretty cool! Our pen name is Together-Indestructible. Would you PLEASE go check it out and tell us what you think? Again, I'm so sorry! I wouldn't be upset if we didn't make it to 1,000 reviews on this chapter, but it would be really cool if we could! I love you guys so much, and I could get 999 reviews and be satisfied. But yeah, PLEASE REVIEW! (Even if you're a guest!)**

**And please remember to check out "Hidden Secrets"!**

**Review Challenge: What is your favorite season and why?**


	28. Secrets Revealed

**I THINK I JUST HAD A HEART ATTACK...**

**BEYOND HAPPY READING! ECSTATIC READING! JOYFUL READING! BEYOND HAPPY READING! ECSTATIC READING! JOYFUL READING! BEYOND HAPPY READING!**

* * *

**Annabeth**

It was four in the morning, and I was still shaking from the nightmare. I mean, how could I kill myself? That's stupid, but it would be so... easy. But I curled my trembling hands into fists. I was Annabeth Chase. And I was _not _going to take the _easy _way out.

I heard movement behind me. I tensed, but tried to steady my breathing, trying to pretend I was asleep.

"Annabeth," a voice whispered softly. I mentally rolled my eyes. It was Dad. Now, if only _this _could be a dream. I continued to keep my eyes closed. Maybe he'd go away.

"Annabeth, I know you're awake. You used to pretend to be asleep all the time when you were little so that you could read books late into the night."

I sighed. No such luck. I turned over. Dad was crouched down, so that his eyes were level with mine. I was surprised at what I saw in his eyes.

His eyes were tired. Like he had been holding a secret and was tired of carrying the weight of it. The exhausted wrinkles on his face made him look ten years older than he was. He seemed weary and sad. He seemed almost like... me.

"Annabeth, can I talk to you?" he asked softly.

"You are talking to me," I pointed out.

"Annabeth," he said tiredly.

I wanted to say no, and that I was mad at him. But when I tried to call back the anger, I came up empty. I only felt concern for him.

"Sure Dad."

He held out his hand to me, and I took it, pulling myself up. I kept the blanket around me, as it was freezing cold. With a start, I realized that Christmas wasn't too far off.

I put his arm around me, and propelled me towards the front door. We put on our winter coats and walked out into the darkness. I wondered where we were going at four o'clock in the morning, but I didn't ask. I just let him steer me towards the car.

I winced as his hand brushed a bruise on my side. Tears started to fill my eyes as I remembered how I had gotten it. I had gone from having a loving mother who would tenderly tousle my hair, to a hateful mother that yanks at my curls painfully.

Again, I felt this wanting, this need to have it all be over.

_But I'm Annabeth Chase. I don't take the easy way out, _I reminded myself. My mom was tough, so I had to be, too.

Dad drove in silence, and I didn't press, knowing that he would talk when he was ready. And besides, how was I supposed to start a conversation? "Hi, Dad! So, last night Sue tried to kill me, Percy kissed Rachel, and I had a dream that I killed myself, but anyway, what's for breakfast?"

Yeah right. I nearly snorted aloud at the stupid thought.

I couldn't see anything through the windows, except in front of me from the headlights, but Dad seemed to know what he was doing. The darkness outside wrapped around us, and for a second, I couldn't breathe, reminded of the nightmare.

"Annabeth? Are you okay?" Dad asked, shooting a concerned look at me. I hadn't realized before, but now I noticed my hands grasping the sides of my seat in a death grip, and I was tense, as though waiting for a blow to the stomach or expecting someone to start yelling at me.

I nodded, not wanting to speak yet.

And then Dad turned. I didn't need to the lights to know where we were.

We got out, and instead the cold wind slicing viciously at me, it caressed my body, wrapping me in an icepack that felt good against the bruises and cuts.

As we came nearer to our destination, I felt grief running through my veins, the voices that had lingered after my dream whispering in my ears, telling me to end it.

But I rebelled against them. I rebelled against myself.

Finally, we arrived at the stream, and sat down on the cool, flat rock.

This was the place. This was last place that I had spent outside of the hospital with mom before she... This was the place that we had spent time together every weekend as a family. This was the place with the cabin we would rent every summer. And this was the place I had refused to visit since my mom died.

I expected anger to rise within me. I expected to want to strike out at my dad for bringing me to this place, but I couldn't. Because i felt at peace here. I felt closer to Mom. Suddenly, those voices seemed to fade away.

We sat in silence for a few minutes. It wasn't uncomfortable. It was nice. Then, I heard Dad sigh.

"Annabeth, I think we should talk," he said quietly.

"What about?" I asked cautiously.

"About... about life, I guess."

I laughed humorlessly. "Life sucks and then you die, right? What more is there to talk about?"

I knew that I was being harsh, but I couldn't help it. Dad studied my face intently.

"Tell me what you think about Sue. Don't sugar coat it."

I sucked in ice-cold breath. "Sue is great. I just wish she would take care of the boys a little more."

Dad kept studying me, silent.

I just looked down, and put my aching fingers into the water. I didn't even flinch at the coldness. It wasn't long before it became numb. And I loved it. It was the first time that I could really control whether the pain there or not.

"You're a very convincing liar, you know that? But you're also my daughter. I know you are lying. I know something happened."

When I didn't respond, he put a hand under my chin and lifted it up, forcing my eyes to meet his.

"Tell me the truth," he whispered.

I tore my eyes away from him. Could I really do this? Could I really let my secret go away, just like that? And would he mad at me? What would happen? Would he try to call the police? Or would Sue find out and try to kill us? Because I knew now that she would. That she would hesitate to murder someone.

All those questions tore through my mind, confusing me. But as I looked at my dad again, I remembered that he was my _dad. _If I couldn't trust him, I couldn't trust anyone. Although, maybe I _couldn't _trust anyone.

But something in me told me to tell him. This secret-it had been tearing me apart, ripping my mind to shreds. It had made me suicidal. So maybe if I could share the weight with someone else, it would help me remember; it would help me remember who I was.

But I knew I couldn't _tell _him. No words could possibly describe the physical and emotional pain Sue had put me in.

I made my decision.

I took my freezing hand out of the water, and put it on top of my dad's warm hand. He flinched at my cold touch, but didn't object. I then guided his hand to the hem of my shirt. I stared straight ahead, and trying to think of something-anything-except for what I was doing, because I knew if I did, I would back out.

I gently lifted the jacket and the shirt up so that it only exposed my ribs. I heard Dad gasp and I turned around to see his eyes widened, a huge fire burning in them.

I could feel what he saw. From the sharp pains itching at my sides when I breathed, I knew that he probably saw big patches of purple, blue, and green.

"Annabeth," he said, his voice rough.

I shook my head, and pulled his hand gently away from my shirt and jacket, letting them seal away my secret. But then I took his hand allowed him to pull the sleeves up my arms. Again, I heard a sharp intake of breath.

The freezing air should be uncomfortable. It should almost hurt me, make me want to stick my arms into an oven. But it doesn't.

It really just encased my arm in a soothing icepack, numbing my arm until the pain is no longer. It makes me want to let my whole body go numb.

He slid the sleeves back down, and took me in his arms. I ignored the pain it brought me, and tried to only take in the warmth and love in his embrace.

But I could feel his body trembling in anger. His whole being radiated fury.

"Annabeth. I could tell that you didn't like her. I knew that she was rude to you. But this... I never would have though... how anyone do such a thing?"

I looked at the stream, watching the moonlight reflect off of it.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked.

"How was I supposed to? 'Oh, hey, Dad! I just thought I'd say that Sue almost killed me yesterday! So how was your day?' It's not that easy," I said, finally finding my voice.

He sat in a thoughtful silence. "How long?"

I didn't even have to ask what he meant. I shrugged and winced.

"Don't know. A few weeks? A month? Maybe more."

"You've been in so much pain. All alone, haven't you?" he said, his voice sounding strangled. I didn't nod. I didn't shake my head no. I just looked down.

"Did you tell your friends?"

I shook my head.

Yet another silence stretched between us. Finally, I asked,"What are you going to do?"

"Call the police," he said fiercely, looking at me as though it was obvious. My eyes widened, and I felt fear pulse through me again.

"No!" I blurted out before I could stop myself. He looked at me, bewildered.

"What? Why?! I mean, surely, you of all people-"

"No!" I insisted. "Dad, you don't understand! Sue won't hesitate to kill me-or you. She's cold and heartless. Get a divorce. Kick her out of the house. I don't know!"

"She wouldn't kill-"

"Dad, you saw what she did to me! She was about to kill me when you walked in. You just don't understand..." my voice cracked on the last word.

I don't know why, but a wav of hysteria was building within me.

He looked into my eyes, full of concern.

"I'll figure this out. It's almost time for you to go to school. Now you listen to me. You need your friends. You need to trust them. Thalia and your other friends have got good heads on their shoulders. Stop carrying the weight alone. Tell them. And tell Percy."

I hesitated, but nodded. I also vowed not to tell Percy. It was clear that I couldn't trust him.

I got up, and Dad walked by my side, his arm wrapped around me protectively. Suddenly, it didn't seem like I was drowning in water anymore. I was only treading it.

As I walked by his side, I finally felt like I had found a piece to me that I hadn't realized I had lost.

* * *

I was standing by the lockers at school, nervously waiting for my friends to come. It was Monday. I knew they would all come in a little later than usual.

The bell was about to ring when Thalia, Piper, Hazel, Bianca, Silena, and Juniper finally came through the doors.

"Hey, Annie!" Thalia called.

I didn't even reprimand her.

"Come with me. I need to talk with you guys," I said quietly, urgently.

Thalia's brow furrowed. "You didn't get mad at me. Uh oh, something really bad is about to happen."

"Annabeth, what's wrong?" Bianca asked.

I looked around fearfully, afraid someone would overhear us. I shook my head. "Not here."

The bell rang, signaling that everyone needed to be in home room. For the first and last time, I disregarded it. I grabbed Thalia and Hazel's arm and dragged everyone into an empty room. Once we were there, I locked the classroom and closed the blinds.

"Annabeth, what the rainbow is going on?!" Thalia asked, putting her hands on her hips. "You're acting like you're about to tell us that you're a Russian spy or something."

"It's worse than that actually," I said wryly.

"Tell us!"

"First, you have to promise, no, _swear _that you won't tell a soul anything that I say after this," I said, looking each of them in the eye.

"We swear! _Tell us!"_

I took a deep breath. I was about to lose my nerve. Adrenaline had been running through me, but it was starting to die off, and if I didn't tell them now, I would never tell them.

I took another trembling breath. With a shaking hand, I lifted up the sleeve to my shirt.

Gasps from my friends filled the air.

"Oh my god, Annabeth, what happened?!" Piper shrieked.

I closed my eyes. How do I start?

"You know how I've been wearing make up lately? And how I say I hate Sue? Well..."

And I proceeded to tell them everything. I studied their faces as they went from shocked, to horrified, to furious.

And so it happened.

My secret, the one that I had worked so hard to keep in, poured out.

And I didn't stop the flow.

Now it was up to me and my friends to figure out how to get rid of Sue without getting ourselves killed.

Because of two things I was certain:

Sue was evil.

Sue would kill.

* * *

**Eh, not my best chapter but it wasn't horrible either.**

**AND AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! I still can't believe it! I swear, one day Fanfiction is going to kill me! And my grades...**

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**My friend and I will be posting a new story tomorrow on our account Together-Indestructible. Summary: Annabeth has had this imaginary friend since her mom died when she was six. She refused to talk to anybody except for him. He has black hair and sea-green eyes. When she was thirteen, she still hadn't talked to anyone except him. But then he disappeared. She went CRAZY and her dad broght her to a mental hospital. It was the biggest one ever-for serious cases. It was government-owned. While she's there, she meets Percy. And he looks EXACTLY like her imaginary friend. She soon finds out that he had had an imaginary friend that looked like her. And what's going on in this hospital? Why are people disappearing? Why aren't visitors allowed in... or out?**

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	29. Another Bad Chapter Yay! :

**Thanks to everyone and all of the epic guests who reviewed! Today is** Bluest4ever**'s birthday and yesterday was** alexhermann48**'s birthday! So HAPPY BIRTHDAY! :D :D This chapter is dedicated to both of you! Yay, me. Not the best chapter ever. I'm suffering writer's block. Big whoop. **

**Happy Reading!**

* * *

**Percy**

No way. There was absolutely _no way _that I had spent one of the best nights of my life with Rachel Elizabeth Dare. That was the only thing going through my head.

Rachel stalked up to me, trying to sway her hips dramatically. Not that I was looking. No, really, I wasn't trying to see that! It was just one of those things you... noticed, I guess.

She stopped when she was in front of me, and held out her hand. I raised my eyebrows at her.

"Locket, please."

Although, I noticed that it sounded more like an order.

Then something hit me. Jeez, I was stupid! The girl in the locket has _blond _hair, not _red. _

"No, I think I'll keep it for now," I answered.

Her eyes became cold.

"It's my locket. Give it to me."

I crossed my arms over my chest. "No," I said simply. I knew that she was lying. She had to be. And I wasn't going to let her just get away with it. Whoever it belonged to deserved to have their locket back.

She actually looked like she was about to throw a tantrum. But then the door to the classroom opened.

And I was confused at what I saw.

I saw Annabeth, late to class no less, walking in, surrounded by Thalia, Hazel, Piper, Juniper, Bianca, and Silena. Which wasn't really unusual, but something about their stance seemed, I don't know... protective?

Annabeth avoided my eyes completely, and just walked straight to the back of the room, but I saw Thalia throw me a dirty look. The other's had this fierce fire in their eyes that I couldn't comprehend.

I heard Rachel hiss, her attention turning to the group that had just walked in.

"Tsk, tsk. Who ever thought that there would be a day when the great Annabeth Chase was _late _for home room? Or anything for that matter."

"Don't," I said to Rachel.

"Awww, look at that. Percy is protecting his girlfriend!" she sneered. I was starting to think that it was a _very _good thing I didn't give her the locket.

I saw Annabeth's face darken after Rachel's comment. And apparently, Rachel noticed it, too.

"What's wrong, Annie? Or could it be possible," she gasped dramatically,"that you guys have broken up?" She looked around with innocent eyes.

But her remark made me wonder... what were we? I mean, she hates me, but I don't even know what I did wrong! We haven't spoken to each other in days. That's not really the perfect definition of friendship.

Annabeth winced slightly.

"Oooh! I think you hit a soft spot, Rachel," Drew smirked, coming in on the drama.

"Shut your face, or I'll shut it for you," Annabeth snapped. A smile twitched at the corners of my mouth, but I managed to hold it in. That was my Annabeth.

"Annabeth," I heard Mr. Brunner, who had just been letting us fight our own battle, warn.

"Oh, I'd love to see you try. But, by now, you're probably too weak to hurt a fly," Drew said bitingly. Rachel laughed.

I saw Annabeth pale. I looked at her in confusion. Was I missing something? Annabeth never lets anyone effect her like this. She shot up in her seat, but Piper and Hazel yanked her back down. Thalia stood up.

"Shove off, RED."

"Oh, that's low," Drew remarked. Thalia narrowed her eyes.

"Don't know why _you're _talking to _me _about being low."

I looked back and forth between them, as did the rest of the class. It was like watching a tennis match. Rachel, Drew, and Thalia's faces were all fierce, which kind of scared me. Pretty comically, I started inching back slowly towards my seat.

"Thalia, it's okay," Annabeth said quietly from the corner.

I reached my seat next to the guys, who were smirking at me.

_Coward! _their looks seemed to say.

I turned my attention back to Annabeth.

What the heck was going on? None of this made sense. Annabeth was never one to let someone fight her own battles, but this time, not only was Thalia fighting it for her, she was telling Thalia to surrender. That was definitely not the Annabeth I know. Or _knew._

"Oh, Annabeth, what's the matter? Too much of a coward to come up here? Or maybe I could come to you. Wouldn't you like that? But I forgot. We wouldn't want to use up what's left of that precious energy," Drew taunted.

Again, I saw more color drain out of Annabeth's face.

"_Shut up, Rachel! _Annabeth is not a coward. She is the strongest person in this room; she is one of the strongest in this room! You don't know anything about her, so just shut the **** up!"

Drew stared at her for a second. But then an evil smile spread across my face.

"Oh, don't I? You really think I don't know anything about Annabeth? Care to test me?"

Thalia narrowed her eyes. Everyone in the room was tense, but confused, as I was. There was obviously something else going on that I was missing.

"Rachel, Drew! That is enough! Thalia, don't say another word. Sit down! _Now!_" Mr. Brunner said suddenly, firmly.

Everyone watched in silence as they stomped to their seats, and I sunk lower into mine. Then whispers broke out all around us.

The guys quickly turned to me.

"Holy crap, man! That was epic! I thought a chick fight was about to break loose!" Nico said, eyes bright. Jason smacked him.

"That was _not _epic! What was all that about? And thank goodness you had enough common sense no to give Rachel the locket! It looked like you were about to. If you didn't, I was personally going to walk up there and snatch it away from you. Anywho, that's not what matters. What were you thinking? That was a stupid plan. I mean, no offense, but it was stupid and, quite honestly, naïve. You know that a lot of girls like you. So now that you've announced to the whole world that you're looking for your mystery girl, anyone can claim it was them. And the only proof you'll have is skin color, and hair color. That's not much to go by. So now, you'll never be sure that you've given it to the right person when you do. You've got to learn, because that was extremely tactless," Jason finished.

I stared at him, as though I had been smacked in the face. I wanted to be mad at him, but I knew he was right.

"Yeah. But to answer your other question, I have no idea what that was all about. It didn't make sense to me at all," I said.

Then, the bell rang and everyone shot out of their seats.

"I just don't know."

* * *

**Annabeth**

I was seething. And though I would never admit it, I was terrified.

Drew had made it sound as though she knew my secret. I could be wrong; but I could never be too sure. I mean, those remarks about me being weak and not having much energy? Those were completely true. I was so bruised up, and completely drained of energy. But she couldn't know.

She just couldn't.

I watched Percy and his friends walk out of the room. As he did, he glanced over and our eyes locked. His eyes held a look of confusion, but before I could read more, he walked away.

I was getting my books together, all of my friends standing around me. My book dropped, and hit me in the side, and I winced. Piper quickly bent down to get it and hand it to me.

I glanced over and saw Mr. Brunner studying me intently. I wondered vaguely why he hadn't stopped the fight sooner, but I didn't ask.

"Annabeth, could I talk to you for a minute?" he asked me.

I stifled a groan.

"Sure. You guys go on," I added to my friends. But they didn't move.

"No," said Thalia. I mentally rolled my eyes. Great, now they were going to be overprotective.

"Guys, seriously, it's fine. Mr. Brunner just wants to talk to me. It's not like anything is going to... happen."

Yeah, that was my real intelligent way of saying,"Mr. Brunner's not going to whack me to death."

"No. We refuse to leave. You can't make us. Give us detention or whatever, but we aren't going to leave," Thalia insisted. I could have face palmed. I should have known this would happen.

"Is there a problem, Thalia?" Mr. Brunner asked.

"Yes," she said simply.

"Care to elaborate?"

"No."

Mr. Brunner and I sighed. It was no use. Thalia was too stubborn for the world.

"Very well, then. You may stay. Only because I like you."

"Of _course _you like me! Who wouldn't?" Thalia exclaimed happily, dramatically batting her eyelashes.

"Ego alert!" Bianca muttered.

Then we all sat down and stared expectantly at our teacher. He just studied us for a second.

After a minute, he cleared his throat and spoke.

"What's going on?" he finally asked. I looked at Thalia, counting on her to come to my rescue, as she so often does. But she just remained silent. So did the others.

"Um, I'm sure I don't know what you mean," I replied.

"Oh, come on. Annabeth, you were late to class, you got in yet another argument with Rachel-and may I add that you still have not served detention for the first one-and your friends refuse to leave you. _Something _is up."

Silence. I wanted to tell him. But I couldn't. I had already told more people than I wanted. And he is a _teacher. _Legally, they are supposed to report me if I tell him anything like that, and if the cops were called, I'd be dead. Quite literally.

"Oh, we only don't want to leave Annabeth, because she's feeling kinda sick today, and we're afraid she's gone mental and will go down at any moment."

Gee, thanks Thalia. By this point, I just wanted to sink into the ground. I didn't care if Rachel personally buried me, as long as I was gone.

"Yeah. I haven't been feeling too well, but I didn't want to go home, and my overprotective, annoying friends won't leave," I supplied, feeding off of Thalia's horrible lie.

"I'm rather disappointed in you two. You are usually my two best liars," Mr. Brunner mused.

"Uh... thanks?"

"Nevertheless, there is obviously something gone that you don't want to tell me. I won't pry anymore, but I am always willing to listen. I just thought that you should know that."

He dismissed us, and it was all I could do to not run out of the room.

As we started to walk to our first class, I rounded on them.

"What's up with that?! Do you want the whole world to know I'm being abused?" I hissed quietly. "'Cause you might as well have written it my forehead. The way you guys were being so protective, I'm sure he's already guessed!"

They all looked down guiltily. Immediately, I felt bad. They were only trying to help.

"I'm sorry, guys," I muttered softly. "I know you were only trying to be supportive. But could you please tone it down a bit? We just need to act natural."

Hazel put her hand on my shoulder.

"We're sorry, too. It's just hard seeing our friend like this. You mean everything to us, and after seeing what happened, we don't really trust you with anybody."

Tears welled in my eyes, touched by the kind words.

"Thanks," I whispered. "We should get to class now." The others nodded, and we went our ways.

As I walked away from where we all stood, I felt like maybe it was a good idea to tell my friends. While they could be annoying, it felt nice not to have to carry the weight alone, to know that I had people on my side.

Little did I know, then, that just around a corner, only a feet away from where we previously stood, Drew and Rachel were hiding.

They had heard everything.

And I had no idea.

* * *

**Yay, I'm finished with this chapter. I have had writer's block which really sucks, but I did my best. Sorry if I seem off. I think I have insomnia; I've only slept for about 9 hours in the last 2-3 nights put together. Thanks guys, you're amazing etc. etc. LALALALALALALALA! Yeah, I've gone a little crazy. Sorry for the not-my-best chapter. Next one should be better!**

**Also, I wrote a one-shot called Lullaby dedicated to a friend who just lost her grandmother to cancer. I'm so sorry Cathy! She is in God's arms now!**

**And the idea for Rachel overhearing them comes from** Athen grl huntress**! Thanks!**

**Happy Birthday again to** Bluestar4ever **and** alexhermann48**! :D**


	30. For the First Time

**Hey! I am so beyond sorry for the long wait! My stupid computer hasn't been working! This chapter is dedicated to **YayPercabeth123**'s little sister,** Guest **whose birthday was the 9th****,** Vampire of Anime** whose birthday was is the 25th, and **Kerry Claire **whose birthday is the 22nd! HAPPY BIRTHDAY GUYS! :) Thank you to everyone who reviewed, especially all of you epic guests out there!**

**HAPPY READING!**

* * *

**Rachel**

I turned to Drew in shock. So that was Annabeth's secret. Wow. I couldn't believe it. But then again, I could. It made sense. The way she acted, the way she seemed mistrustful. I never missed the way she would flinch at someone's hands near her. I knew her better than anyone-even Thalia.

I frowned when I took in the look on Drew's face. It was contemplating, evil almost.

"Wow. Imagine that. Miss Perfection Goody-Two Shoes Annabeth has her own dirty little secret. Imagine the things we could do with that!" Drew exclaimed, a strange glint in her eyes.

"I don't really think we should do anything about it," I said with a bit of disapproval.

Drew narrowed her eyes at me. "Are you _defending _her?!"

"No," I said firmly. "Her clothes are absolutey terrible, and she seriously needs to learn how to apply makeup properly, but I also think that what is happening to her is her business."

Drew shrugged. "Suit yourself, but I think it's time we have a little fun."

"I think we should get to class first," I said a little sharply.

"Whatever."

And so we did. We walked together in silence to class, where we were obviously late, but being late to class was something common for me.

I sat in the back of the room, while Drew sat at the front.

Drew was very... annoying. Attention seeking. And she was extremely self-absorbed. Everything had to be her way, and she was so demanding.

I saw Annabeth glance back at me with a dirty look on her face.

I smiled wryly to myself. She thinks that _I'm _the annoying one. That _I'm _the attention-seeking one who wants everything my way. She knew nothing. I wasn't friends with Drew. I never will be. She was merely a tool, and I was the mechanic. I was just using her to my advantage. But Drew didn't know that. No one did.

I loved how everyone just assumed things about me. I loved how they just pegged me as the stereo typical popular girl. The one who cared only about makeup and boys. If only they knew.

But I would always use their assumptions to my advantage.

Class was a bore, as always. Annabeth, of course, clung to every word, writing them in her quick scrawl on a sheet of paper.

Teacher's pet. So annoying! I hated how she got so much attention because of her stupid mom dying. And Percy. Ugh. It's always her and Percy.

He cared so much for her, yet she pushed him away. That angered me more than anything else. Someone was offering her their love, but she wouldn't take it. No one had ever offered _me _love. No one ever cared about me.

I couldn't wait to get out of high school. I couldn't wait to get away from that horrible Annabeth, who betrayed me, who never really cared. To get away from Dad and stereotypes and Drew, who was just that-a stereotype.

The bell soon rang, and everyone gathered their books and rushed out the door. I got up slowly, wincing. Annabeth shot a strange look in my direction, and panic rose into my chest. I had to be more careful. So, I composed my face, and made a big show of breaking my nails. Her look soon became that of annoyance. I smiled smugly to myself.

The smile faded into an ugly sneer when she walked towards me with her freaky little minions, Thalia and the rest of her little gang.

"What do _you _want?" I said, tapping my foot impatiently."I have a class to go to."

"That's rich coming from the girl who was late to class," Annabeth retorted.

"Just get on with it!" I snapped.

"Watch the tone, Dare!" Thalia said.

"Guys, SHUT IT!" Hazel yelled.

We all blinked, and turned to stare at her. Hazel _never _raises her voice.

"Well, get on with it," I said to Annabeth.

"Mr. Brunner reminded me today that we still haven't served our detetion together," Annabeth said quickly, as if the words stung on their way out.

"I can't," I replied immediately. "I have homework, and an appointment scheduled with my hair stylist after school." It was the truth, just not the whole truth.

Annabeth just rolled her eyes.

"Too bad. Today is the only day I can afford to come home late. Surely you can give up one stupid little appointment!"

A bit of panic started to well in my chest.

"I _can't!_"

"What, are you too afraid that the world will find out that you can't brush your hair yourself? Or are you afraid of Annabeth?" Thalia smirked.

"I would never in my dreams be scared of Annabeth!" I spat.

"Then prove it!" Thalia snarled back.

We stood in an intense staring contest, neither willing to back down. But I wasn't going to be outdone. I wasn't a coward.

"Fine then! I'll do it today, if it means so much to you," I said, before I could stop myself. Then, I gathered the rest of my books, and stomped out, bumping Annabeth's shoulder as I went.

As I walked to my locker, realization sunk in. I was going to be in so much trouble when I got home.

What had I done?

* * *

**Annabeth**

I waited impatiently for Rachel to arrive at the art room. I just wanted to get this over with.

All day, I had avoided Percy. It sucked, but what could I do? He betrayed me. I had also told my friends what I had seen Percy doing with Rachel, so now they understood why I was distancing myself from him. I think Fate hated me.

I heard footsteps coming down the hall, and I rose to my feet, ready to walk into the art room, assuming that it was Rachel.

But it was not.

"Annabeth."

I turned around. And I was looking into _his _eyes. My breath caught. Even though I was hurt, that didn't stop me from being awed by him and his gorgeous eyes.

But I forced myself to shove down those emotions.

"Percy," I said coldly. "What do you want?"

"To talk."

"Well, that's great. But the problem is, I have nothing to say. So get away from me before I punch you in the face and earn another detention while serving it."

His eyes became pleading, desperate.

"Annabeth, please. Just for a second," he begged.

"Fine. One. There, that was a second, now leave," I knew I was being obnoxious, but I didn't care.

"No," he stated simply. I raised my eyebrows at him.

"Excuse me?"

"No. I haven't had an explanation for why you have been treating me this way. And you've been acting all weird lately. You were late to class, Thalia and your friends refuse to leave your side, you paled at the some of the things Drew said today. This isn't the Annabeth I knew. And I'm not leaving until I can find her again."

I sucked in a deep breath. Why, oh, why did he choose now to be so observant?

"I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about," I replied calmly, but firmly.

He looked deeply into my eyes, searching them, trying to peel the layers of secrets straight from my mind.

"Annabeth," he murmurmed quietly. "Trust me. I love you. I care about you. Please tell me."

And standing there, gazing into his beautiful orbs, I could almost believe him. I could almost believe that I could trust him, and that he loved me.

"How can I believe you? After what you did? After you _cheated _on me, Percy!" I said, not even bothering to omit the accusitory tone that had crept into my voice.

He stepped back, apparently alarmed by what I had said.

"Cheated on you?! Annabeth, what are you talking about? I would never, _ever_-"

"Oh, spare me. I know the truth. I _saw _the truth. I saw you kiss her, Percy!"

His eyes widened. "Kiss her-?" But then is eyes widened, as though he had just had an epiphany, or revelation of some sort.

"Oh. You saw that?" he asked, bewildered.

And something in me broke again.

It started out as a low moan in my stomach, and grew into a strangled cry as it flew from my lips. My knees folded under me, and I sunk to to the ground.

Because somewhere in me, I had wanted him to deny it. To contradict me once again, and to tell me that it had just been my imagination.

But he had as good as admitted his crime to the judge. And it _hurt. _

Now, more alarmed than ever, Percy rushed forward, and caught me as a sob tore at my throat. Why wouldn't this end? Why could I be _happy? _Was that really so much to ask?

"Annabeth, Annabeth. Shhh! You don't understand!" he said quickly, softly, clucthing me in his arms, stroking my hair. My face was pressed into his shoulder, my tears soaking his shirt.

"What don't I understand, Percy!?" I cried into his shirt, the sound muffled.

He pulled me away gently, and fitted his hand underneath my chin, forcing me to look into his beautiful eyes.

"Annabeth, what you saw, that was nothing. It meant nothing! It was all a misunderstanding. Rachel, she said needed to talk to me, so I followed her. But then she made her move on me. I kissed back at first, but only because I was shocked," he added quickly. "But then I pushed her away. I swear! Annabeth, you have to believe me! I would never hurt you on purpose... I mean, just the thought... how could you think... Annabeth, _please,_" he breathed.

I looked at him, searching his face, trying to find a lie, but I came up empty. But I was too far broken, anyway.

"How do I know I can trust you?" I asked him reproachfully.

"Because. I love you," he said simply.

I held his eyes, and suddenly I wasn't in the school any more. I was in happier times, remembering what we had. And what could still be mine. I remembered seeing his eyes for the first time, seeing his smile, feeling his lips against mine. I remembered our juvenile pillow fight, but the happiness that had come with it. I could have that again. But I had to let go.

I shook my head slowly.

"Percy," my voice broke on his name, "I don't know if I can-"

And just like that his lips were against mine. They weren't rough or insistent, only soft and gentle. They erased my pain for just a second. It felt _so _good. I needed him. I had to trust. My mom would have wanted me to.

So, slowly, I kissed back gently, my answer, telling him that I accepted him, his love. He finally pulled away. Stroking the back of my hand, he kissed my cheek, my neck, my forehead gently.

"Thank you, Annabeth."

I smiled slightly. He had understood. I should have known he would. I suddenly felt like we were starting over again, almost as though I were seeing him for the first time.

But I could do this. I had to.

I knew that my trust wouldn't be immediate. It would take time, but this could work.

Then, we heard footsteps coming down the hall, and I sighed, knowing it was Rachel, late, as usual.

"About time!" she called.

"Shut your face, Dare. I was the one waiting for you."

"Yeah, if you can call making out with your boyfriend waiting," she smirked.

I rolled my eyes. "Come on, let's get this over with," I said.

"Finally, we're on the same page," she said before stomping inside the room.

Percy stood up and held out a hand for me. I smiled softly and grabbed it, pulling myself up off the ground, will the weight I had always been carrying to stay behind.

But as I stood, the hem of my shirt lifted, revealing my side. My bruises could be seen. And Percy saw them.

He gasped, and looked at me, apalled. He stood in shock, and before he could move, I rushed inside the art room, slamming the door roughly behind me.

* * *

**Sorry, I only had an hour and fifteen minutes to write that! It's rushed-get over it. I bet you weren't expecting Rachel's POV, but I decided to try somthing new. I hope you liked this chapter! Please review!**

**So, I just read Twilight for the first time ever. I'm sorry Twilight lovers, but it sucked. It was, for a lack of a better word, childish. I've read fanfics that are better. The idea, plot, and concept is intriguing, but how it is written just isn't good. I'm not saying that I could do better, this is just my opinio. I can't imagine a 17 year old girl saying, "Holy crow!" and they way Bella's world revolves around Edward is sickening, rather than sweet. When Bella and her friend talk about Edward, they sound like 6th graders. "OMG, he looked at you! He must like you!" And there is no deeper meaning whatsoever except maybe love conquers all or something. Just my opinio. If you don't agree then that is fine with me! I have tons of friends who love Twilight! ;)**

**If you haven't read these fanfics, I am judging you:**

_Heavy in your arms by_ xxbethamphetaminexx

_A Twisted Tale of Cinderella by_ Saph-fire

**Both are extremely incredible! READ THEM!**

**Again, sorry for the long update! Please forgive me! REVIEW! (Even if you're a guest!) It would be nice to wake up to some lovely reviews in the morning to boost my spirits before school. I love you guys!**

**P.S. Can you believe I'm at chapter 30?!**


	31. What We Used to Be

**Hey guys! Once again, I have taken awhile to update, so I feel so bad about that! But I had a band competition called LGPE (Large Group Performance Evaluation) which was pretty tough, but luckily, we got high ratings!And 65 reviews for that last chapter?! WOW! I'm so happy that you guys were pleased with it. Rachel's POV was a challenge to write, but I am so happy that most of you seemed to like it! As much as I love writing this story, I'm really hoping for it to end by chapter 35. If it's rushed, I am so sorry! **

**But I have some pretty good news! I will be writing a sequel to Cinderella! It probably won't be nearly as good or long as this and I have no idea how I am gonna pull it off, but life's all about how you handle plan B, right? I already know exactly how the last paragraph of this story is gonna play out. I think after this story is finished I'm going to update some more chapters of In My Shoes, write the first chapter to the sequel of this story and post it, then maybe take a hiatus on it to update the other stories that I've abandoned.**

**Anywho, I love you guys and thank you so much for all the lovely reviews! Enjoy this chapter!**

**Happy Reading!**

* * *

**Annabeth**

I took a deep breath as I walked away from the door I had slammed in Percy's bewildered face.

I would have to tell him. I knew I would. But now wasn't the time, and I couldn't afford to think of it right now, especially if I wanted to survive a detention with Rachel.

Have I ever mentioned that my life sucked?

I stalked over to where Rachel was talking to the art teacher, Mrs. James, who appeared to be giving Rachel a list of directions.

"...have to go to a meeting, but while I'm gone, you two need to work on the things I have on the list. Don't get into any trouble," she said, giving me and her a pointed look.

"Wait, you're actually going to leave us alone in the same room?" Rachel asked.

"Yes, Miss Dare. I am trusting you two. Don't let me down," she said, and then walked out.

For a second, we stood in awkward silence, staring sullenly at the piece of paper that Rachel held in her hand.

I turned my attention to the messy room around me-anything to avoid looking at Rachel. All around me were stacks of paper, used and unused, stacked carelessly on counters and shelves. I spotted a tray of mini clay masks resting precariously on a shelf, only needing to be pushed a centimeter forward for it to fall. The floors were covered with scraps of paper, and there were art utensils everywhere.

I groaned inwardly. This was going to take forever.

I was brought out of my pitiful thoughts by Rachel snapping her fingers in front of my face.

"Hellooo! Earth to Annabeth!" she said in an obnoxious tone. "Are you just going to stand there the whole time, or do you think you could actually help? After all, it was your idea to do this today."

I sighed. "Of course," I said in a sweet tone. "It would help if you gave me the list, though, so I could actually see what it is that I'm supposed to be doing."

She handed-or rather threw- the list at me, stomping off to one of the counters with a container of Clorox wipes in hand.

I read the list. I looked something like this:

1) Clear counters and clean them

2) Organize papers

3) Sort out paints, colored pencils, and markers; throw away markers that don't work

4) Sweep floors

5) Put all utensils away in cabinets

6) Rinse out paint brushes and old containers

7) Organize cabinets

At that point, I just stopped reading. It was all stupid stuff that she should be able to do by herself. And the room wouldn't be so disorganized if she would just make her students put everything away properly in the first place.

Since Rachel had just started doing the counters, I grabbed a huge, messed up stack of papers and started sorting them into piles of used and unused.

I found the work almost calming. It was methodical, rythmic. It required me to think about what I was doing, but not so much that I wasn't able to let my mind wander a little bit.

Vaguely, I could hear Rachel bustling around behind me, but I did my best to tune her out. The more I ignored her, the easier this would be.

As much as I didn't want to think about it, I allowed my mind to wander to the topic of Percy, Dad, and the rest of my pretty screwed up life.

I didn't know when exactly I would have to face Percy again, but I was certain I would see him sometime in the next twenty-four hours. And I had no clue what I was going to say. I was pretty sure that, "Oh, so I guess you saw my bruises. Yeah, Sue is a vicious maniac who loves to abuse me, but seriously Pery, it's no big deal," wasn't going to work, but how I could tell him?

Okay, so maybe I could just _show _him like I did with my dad, but I knew if Percy saw exactly how bad it was, he would go off the deep end.

And I have no idea what had just happened to me out there in the hall. I believed that Percy was telling the truth, but that didn't mean that all the time I had spent in aguish hadn't left scars on my heart. But kissing him just now, just being close to him again had already helped to start heal the scars. I needed Percy.

I also wondered what life would be like for me when I got home. Would dad be there, acting overprotective? Would he try to talk to me about it more? Or even worse, has he confronted Sue? I shuddered at the thought.

How could any of this have ever happened? How could I be happy one moment, and then angry or distraught the next? Why couldn't there just be happiness? Fairytales are so stupid. They fool little kids into thinking there's such thing as happily ever after, but it's so far from the truth that Walt Disney should be ashamed.

As I shuffled through papers, I found a drawing of a building someone had been designing. I stared at it for a second. Someone had once asked me why I wanted to be an architect and my reply was that I wanted to build something permanent. But now I realize that it's all useless.

I mean, _nothing _in life is permanent. Buildings crumble, friendships fade, memories become forgotten, trust gets broken, people die, and love dissolves, eventually.

Everything disappears. _I _will disappear.

My phone buzzed sharply in my pocket, pulling me out of my, once again, extremely depressing thoughts.

I read the screen, my heart dropping a little more with each word.

_WHAT THE HECK?! WHY AREN'T YOU DEAD? NO ONE CARES ABOUT YOU! :-[_

_-Anonymous_

I felt tears prick at the back of my eyes. Because when I had first started getting these messages, I told myself that I wouldn't listen to what ever low-life was sending me these messages. But after I had come close to doing what this person wanted...

I shook my head, trying to get the tears to disappear. I had to stop thinking like that. I had to believe that things could get better. I had Percy back, now. For how long, I didn't know, but I had to hold every bit of happiness I had close to me.

"Annabeth?" I vaguely heard a voice say.

But I didn't acknowledge it. I had to keep my tears in. Why wouldn't they go away? I shook my head again, but a stupid tear leaked over, betraying me.

"Annabeth!" The voice was more insistent this time.

I came back to my senses. I was in an art room. Serving detention. With Rachel. RACHEL! I had forgotten about her.

She was standing in front of me, frowning. Then it dawned on me. _She _was the one who had called my name.

I wiped my face with my sleeve and looked up at her.

"What?" I snapped.

"You're upset." It was a statement, not a question.

"Good observation, Sherlock." I knew I was being rude. But since the rudeness was directed towards Rachel, I didn't particularly care.

"Annabeth, please," she said, her voice softer than I had ever heard it.

"What? What do you expect? For me to spill my hart out to you? Because that's not going to happen. Maybe a long time ago, but not now. Why would you expect me to tell you anything after the way you've treated me that last few years? Just leave me alone, and continue living your perfect life," I said, not being able to stop myself.

She took a step back.

"You don't know anything," she whispered quietly.

But my emotions were high, and that's not what I wanted to hear.

"Oh, what don't I know? I know that you get everything you want. You have a huge house, rich parents who will give you anything you want, more money than most people will ever be able to make in their lives, and a popular status at school."

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew that what I was saying was stupid. I knew that people wore masks, especially since I wear one. But I was jealous of the life she had going for her, jealous for her being able to have things that I knew were impossible for me to have.

She just stayed silent.

"I actually think that _you're _the one who thinks that you know everything about everyone. You don't know what I go through, yet you bully me for no reason," I continued.

"Oh, really? How do you know what I know? Because I think that I know a lot more than you think I know."

I raised my eyebrows. "Is that so?"

"I know what your stepmom does to you," she said quietly so that I almost missed it.

I paled. No, no, _no. _This couldn't be right. She had to be bluffing. I felt like the world was spinning around me.

"You can't know," I said breathlessly.

"Well, I do," she said matter-of-factly.

"But you _can't!_" I insisted, more to myself than to her.

My knees became shaky and I sunk to the floor. What was happening to me? I just kept having these breakdowns. Life keeps throwing me these horrible fastballs. Every time I feel like I get a break, life is like, "Lol, no." When will this stop? I pressed my hands to my eyes.

I felt Rachel put a hand on my shoulder, and I couldn't find it in me to push it away. Her presence was surprisingly comforting.

I rocked myself back and forth, and she wrapped an arm around me. It almost felt like old times. I got a sudden flash of sitting alone in the hospital as the doctors took my mom's body away so many years ago. I remembered Rachel coming up beside me and laying with me through the night, as we cried into each other's arms.

We sat in silence for a little bit, our task, our anger completely forgotten.

After awhile I looked up at her.

"What happened to us, Rachel?" I asked her brokenly.

She looked down. She didn't need to ask what I meant. She knew exactly what I was talking about.

She sighed. "A lot happened to us."

"We used to be best friends. But then you started being horrible to me. I don't understand," I said, trying to keep the note of accusation out of my voice.

She laughed without humor. "Of course you would think that."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that I wasn't the one who started it all. You've forgotten what happened after your mom died."

"Then, so help me, because I am so lost. Explain," I demanded.

"I shouldn't have to," she retorted. "But since you asked... You always act like I was the one who abandoned you. At leats, that's what you've told everybody. You peg me as a mean, popular girl, and you act like we were never friends. We used to be like sisters, Annabeth. Don't you remember that? You asked why I stopped being your friends and it was because of this: I loved your mom. My parents never had time for me. Ever. But your mom always took me in, always treated me like her own. And then she was taken away. It was bad enough that I lost her, but she wasn't the only one I lost that night. I also lost my best friend. After she died, you withdrew. That was understandable. I waited. And waited. I watched as you started to become yourself again, started to become alive. I waited with open arms. But you never came back to me. You forgot me. It killed me," she finished, her voice breaking on the last word.

Guilt wrenched my heart. I wanted to deny it. I wanted to tell her that it was just her imagination and that she was overexaggerating.

But I knew it was true. It was my fault. All my fault.

I saw a single tear run down her cheek.

"Rache I... I'm so sorry. I don't... I didn't realize..." But I couldn't find words.

I felt overwhelmed. My life was going much too fast. I wanted things to go to slow motion.

"Don't hurt yourself. What's past is past. I've gotten over it, anyway. I have Drew."

I narrowed my eyes at her.

"That's not true. You're not over it. And you're not friends with Drew. I can see it in your face."

She was silent for a moment. Then she shook her head. "It doesn't matter. None of it. Can we just forget this? All of it? Everything that we just said in the last few minutes?"

I studied her for a moment.

She held out her hand.

"Truce?"

I shook it.

"Yeah."

We helped each other up, and as though none of that had just happened, we started cleaning in silence again.

After we were finished, we walked out into the hall.

"You never told me why you got all upset in the first place," Rachel said suddenly.

I looked at her.

"Annabeth, you can tell me. I know that you don't trust easily. But you can tell me. Have I actually told anyone your secrets?"

I thought about that.

She has said some pretty rude stuff about me, but she never actually told anyone any of my secrets.

"Please?" she asked.

I scowled. I hated trust. It wasn't permanent. But maybe that's whole beauty of it. Maybe trust is really just having faith in what's not permanent.

I took a leap of faith.

I took out my phone and showed her the texts that I'd been getting. Her eyes widened.

"Annabeth, you wouldn't actually listen to this, would you?" she asked sharply.

"Of course not," I said, avoiding her eyes. She gasped.

"You have. You've thought of suicide. Listen to me, don't listen to this person. I know that up until about twenty minutes ago we've hated each other, but I really do care for you. I always have. Always."

And hit suddenly hit me that I, too, had always cared for her deep inside.

I don't know when I decided to do it, but I did.

I embraced her.

I let go of my wall for just an instant, and allowed her to be on the inside instead the outside. We had been so close when we were little that it was impossible not to want her back now.

When we pulled away, both of us had tears in our eyes.

"See you tomorrow?" I asked in a shaky voice, as we got ready to part ways.

She nodded, and started walking in one direction while I went the other.

"Oh, and Annabeth?"

I turned around.

"About what your stepmom does to you... you're not the only one out there who knows what it's like."

Before I could even open my mouth to ask her what I meant, she lifted up her sleeve for just an instant, and I could see the familiar colors of purple, blue, and green on her arm. I gasped.

And then she was gone.

She had run off, and I don't think I could blame her.

I walked the rest of the way home quickly, my mind reeling.

How did I not see it before? All of it? How could I not see that everything she had done had been a mask? How was I going to help her? I felt so frustrated that I screamed through gritted teeth.

So, I just decided not to think about it anymore.

* * *

When I got home, he was on the porch. And be 'he', I meant the one and only Percy Jackson. Thankfully, Sue wasn't home.

As I got closer, I could see his face, but his expression was unreadable. It scared me.

I slowed my pace, not at all in a hurry to face him. My feet dragged as I kept walking. I just wanted to sleep. To get away from the pain for a little bit.

And then I was there, standing next to him on the porch, leaning against the railing as he stared at something across the street. He didn't acknowledge me at first, and I didn't press.

And then I felt a gentle yet firm hand press into my side. I tensed at the pricks of pain, but otherwise ignored it. I tried to concetrate on his warmth, on the fact that he was standing here next to me.

Slowly, without looking at me, his hand traveled to the hem of my shirt, and slowly slipped under it, so that his bare hand was resting on injuries. I didn't breathe.

His hand traveled to my ribs, and then to the other side of me. I felt like sparks of electricity were shooting from his hand and shooting through my being.

Then, finally, his hand reached the small of my back, and he ever so gently pressed me against him, and I buried my face into his chest, taking in a deep breath of his salty scent.

His other hand started to run up my arm, feeling my bruises there as well. It then reached my neck and slid up until he caressed my cheek. He tilted his head down so that my forehead touched his.

I could feel his breath. It tickled my cheek. I leaned forward so that is lips pressed against my cheek, finally closing the gap between us.

His breath, my breath, his body, my body-it didn't matter any more. We were together, and that's all that mattered.

Eventually, we pulled back, but he kept his arm around me, and my eyes locked with his.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he whispered, bringing me hand up and kissing it gently.

"I didn't know how," I said simply.

He hugged me again.

"I'll never let you go," he said quietly.

I pulled away.

"You're not mad at me?" I asked, surprised.

He also looked surprised. "Of course not. Why would I be? You should have told me, but I know that it must be hard. I only want what's best for you."

I smiled at him softly as I reached up to kiss him gently on the lips.

"Percy?" I mumbled against his lips.

"Hm?"

"Can you promise me something?" I asked.

"Anything," he said.

"Don't ever leave me."

He looked deeply into my eyes.

"I won't. I love you."

For once, I allowed myself to give a piece of my heart away. To give it to him.

"I love you, too."

* * *

**Another not-so-good chapter. Big whoop. Hopefully you guys will like it. I'm pretty pessimistic so I'm sorry about me always saying that my chapters are bad. But I think I may go back and rewrite this one when I get the chance. I know I didn't reply to all of my reviews yet, but I am so insanely busy. I promise I will as soo as possible! I'm pretty behind on PMs but I still read them, so feel free to send me them any time, and I will eventually get back. Thank you so much to everyone who has read this! I love you guys so much. My last chapters may be a little long, simply because I'm trying to finish this story up. I know this was really rushed and I apologize. Please don't tell me that it was rushed, because I know it was. But yeah, thank you so much!Please review! (Even if you're a guest!) Let's make these last chapters count!**

**P.S. Aren't you surprised that I didn't really leave a cliffhanger?**


	32. In My Arms

**Hey! I don't have too much time! My computer is so bipolar; it hasn't been working since I posted my last chapter. :( I think that this story may go to 35 chapters, maybe even less. I had a pretty crappy day so I'll be coming out with yet another depressing one-shot either today or tomorrow. It'll be called 'Parallel Love'. Thank you SOOOOO much for 1,339 reviews! This is just insane guys! I love you all so much! As always, read, review, and do your thing! **

**Random disclaimer: Rick Riordan's a guy and I'm a girl. Need I say more? **

**Happy Reading!**

* * *

**Percy**

Annabeth. _My _Annabeth. Those were the only words I could think as I held her close to me, feeling what that horrible _witch _had done. _My _Annabeth had had to go through this alone. Well, not anymore. Because Annabeth was _mine._

I tried to keep my hands gentle as I ran them up her arms. But it was almost hard. Because I had so much anger pulsing through me, and I wanted to crush something - preferrably Sue's face.

On the outside, Annabeth seemed so strong - and there's no doubt that she was - but in my arms, she felt so _fragile_. So delicate, like a rose petal trying to hang on to the stem, but so close to falling.

A part of me wondered if she already had.

I cradled her face in my hands, not willing to let her go. I looked into her eyes; it was like looking through cracked glass, and that's when I knew. That's when I knew that even though she tried to cover it up, she _had _fallen off the stem. The petal had been blown away from it's life source, from it's reason to live.

I knew this, because it was the same broken look that I had seen only hours before my beloved sister, Rosa Lee, had decided to kill herself.

And seeing the same look in Annabeth's face that I had seen in Rose's face terrified me. If Annabeth couldn't hold the pieces together herself, I would have to hold them for her.

"I'll never let you go," I said quietly, trying to convince myself as much as her.

She pulled away. I vaguely noticed her hand go unconsciously to her neck, as though she were going to grasp a necklace.

"You're not mad at me?" she asked, looking surprised.

I stared at her. "Of course not. Why would I be? You should have told me, but I know that it must be hard. I only want what's best for you."

If anything, I was more angry at myself. How could I have missed that fractured look in her eyes? How could I have not figured out what she was mad at me for? I was more than just a Seaweed Brain. I was straight out _dumb _and completely unobservative. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

She smiled at me softly as she reached up to kiss me gently on the lips.

"Percy?" she mumbled against my lips. Her breath was sweet.

"Hm?"

"Can you promise me something?" she asked.

"Anything," I said, meeting her beautiful, cracked gaze.

"Don't ever leave me," she said, as though she thought I would slip away with the wind. And maybe that _is _what she thought.

"I won't. I love you," I told her, putting everything I had into each and every word. And her response was sweeter than the thickest honey. Her response was like a piece of music, a melody that would never fade.

"I love you, too."

I pulled her close to me. And that's how we stood for a long time.

* * *

We sat in a comfortable silence on her porch, but I started to notice when the light around us began to fade.

"Won't Sue," I spat the name with venom dripping from my voice, "be here soon."

She flinched slightly. I wouldn't have noticed it before, but now that I know what's been happening to her, and now that I look at her closely, I can catch the little things she tries to hide from me.

I took her hands and rubbed soothing circles on the back of it.

"Yeah, I suppose so," she said, sounding disappointed.

Right on cue, a car pulled into the driveway, and I instinctively pulled her closer to me. She felt tense in my arms. But then, she relaxed. I sent her a curious look.

"It's my dad," she murmured softly.

"Oh." But, still, I kept my arms around her. I couldn't bring myself to keep her away from my touch, to leave her exposed. It was silly, but I didn't care. I had to make up for hurting her. If that was possible.

We watched silently as her dad climbed out of his car and walked towards us.

He offered us a tight-lipped smile. I nodded my head towards him to acknowledge him.

"Hello, Percy," he said.

"Hi, Mr. Chase," I replied.

"Go ahead and call me Frederick," he said kindly.

"Uh, sure. Thanks," I said uncertainly.

Then he turned to look at Annabeth.

"How was your day, sweetie?" he asked her quietly. I could easily pick up the double meaning in his question.

She made a face, wrinkling her nose. Though I would never say it to her face, she looked cute and actually human when she did that. Yup, she would definitely kill me if I said that to her.

"Dad, seriously, don't call me sweetie! That makes me sound like a child!"

He chuckled, but I frowned; Annabeth had just easily evaded the question.

"You are a child," I joked.

That was a mistake. She kicked me in the shins. Hard.

"Ow! You're such a meanie!" I yelped, childishly sticking my tongue out at her. She rolled her eyes inspite of herself.

"Now look who the child is," she retorted.

Her dad looked at us with amusement in his eyes.

"Annabeth, I think it's time we head inside. We should get dinner started so that the food will be ready when your step-mom gets here."

Again, I could feel her flinch almost unnoticably. I looked at her, asking her a silent question. _Does your dad know?_

She nodded ever so slightly. Thank goodness. Now I could relax a little, knowing that Annabeth will at least have some protection in the night. Still, I didn't know I I'd ever be able to get a good night's sleep.

"It was nice seeing you around, Percy. You take care of my girl," Frederick said, giving me a pointed look. I gazed back at him, a serious expression on my face.

"You know I will," I said almost fiercely.

He gave me a smile and then walked inside, ruffling Annabeth's hair.

"Dad! Don't ruffle my hair!" she protested as she followed him inside.

"Oh, come on, Anna-banana! You used to love it when I ruffled your hair!"

I heard her groan in exasperation, and then the door closed. I smiled to myself as I walked to my house. She was in good hands.

For now.

* * *

I groaned as my alarm clock beeped insistently. Stupid thing. Why couldn't it just leave me alone? Oh wait. It's not living and I'm the one that set it to wake me up. I groaned again. Lack of sleep was going to make me go crazy. Scratch that, it already did.

In case you hadn't figured it out yet, I got pretty much no sleep last night. I knew that Annabeth was in good hands with her dad around and all, but just knowing that she was stuck in a house with that devil spawn was enough to make me tremble with worry and anger.

And I nearly had a heart attack when it occurred to me that even though her dad was with her, it didn't make much of a difference unless he stalked her, because she had been abused all this time, even with her dad living with her.

Maybe I was overthinking this a little too much, but either way, I wouldn't feel better until I saw Annabeth and knew that she was safe.

I quickly got ready for yet another day, and headed down to the kitchen, where I could smell scrambled eggs with extra cheese on top. My favorite.

I found mom setting out the plates.

"Morning, Mom!" I greeted.

She looked up and smiled warmly at me. "Good Morning, Percy."

"What's the occassion?" I asked, looking hungrily at the plate.

She shrugged. "There isn't one. I have today off work, but my body is so used to getting up early. I thought I might as well do something useful."

I smiled at her.

"Thanks!"

I sat down hastily and began to shovel the still-hot eggs into my mouth.

"Ow, ow, ow! That's _hot!_" I yelped as they burned my mouth. Mom laughed at me, her eyes twinkling with amusement.

"Wow, imagine that. Who knew that something that came right off the oven would be hot? Surely it should be cold," she said sarcastically.

I just glared at her, and walked over to the fridge to get some orange juice. I grabbed the bottle and drank out of it, without even bothering to pour it in a cup first. I was rewarded with a nice big slap to the back of the head.

"Ow, what was that for?!" I protested.

Mom put her hands on her hips.

"Percy, you know that you're not supposed to drink straight out the bottle! That's gross."

"Oh, boo hoo, cry me a river," I said, rolling my eyes and taking another sip.

"Oh, we'll see whose crying a river if you take another sip out of that bottle," I said pointedly.

She gave me one of those evil, no-nonsense glares that all mothers seem to inherit.

"Oh, fine! Jeez." I put the orange juice back into the fridge and ate the rest of my eggs.

"'Bye, Mom! Love ya!" I said, running out the door, eager to get to Annabeth. Now I understand why Thalia and Annabeth's other friends refused to leave her yesterday. You can't help but feel extremely protective after something like that.

I ran out the door and grinned when I saw Annabeth leaving her house at the same time.

"Annabeth!" I called.

She smiled and ran down to meet me.

"Hey," she said, swinging her bag onto one shoulder so that she could give me a side hug.

"How was your night?" I asked her. She rolled her eyes.

"It was _fine, _Percy. Dad kept an eagle's eye on me, and luckily Sue didn't bother me too much. At least the boys and I are on pretty good terms now," she said happily.

I felt a wave of relief go through me.

As we walked together, a question that had been bothering me last night bubbled to the surface.

"Annabeth, can I ask you something?" I started hesitantly. She seemed taken aback by my uncertainty.

"Of course, Percy."

I waited a second before I responded. How was I supposed to word what I wanted to say?

"Annabeth, you tell me that you're okay, but I know you're not."

She tensed for a moment. Already, I could see her walls coming up, folding around her. I willed them to stay down for just a little longer.

"So?" she responded. She didn't deny it.

"If you need to talk, I'm here for you," I told her. She looked away from me.

"I know that. Thank you."

I sighed. "Annabeth, remember how I told you about my sister, Rosa Lee?"

She nodded.

"Well, Rose was a lot like you. Intelligent, fierce, and also pretty closed-up. And I'm afraid for you. Because you are so much like her, and she ended up killing herself."

Annabeth pulled away from me. But instead of denial, I saw fear in her eyes.

"Percy, I'm not going to kill myself, if that's what you're getting at," she said bluntly.

"But you wear the same broken look as her. And it just terrifies me," i said, rubbing the back of my hand. I had no idea what I was saying or how I was supposed to say all of this.

"Percy, I'm not Rose," she insisted.

"Annabeth, look at me."

At first, she didn't.

"Annabeth."

I cupped her face in my hands.

"Did you ever consider it?" I asked her bluntly. She looked down.

"No." But I could see the lie in her eyes. And it killed me.

"You're lying," I said, trying to keep the note of accusation out of my voice. She just stayed silent.

"Annabeth, tell me the truth. I need to know it."

She opened her mouth to speak, but another voice interrupted us.

"Annabeth!" a frantic voice called. A flash of red, and then the person skidded to a stop right in front of us. Rachel. I tensed.

"What do you want?" I said rudely.

"Percy, it's okay," Annabeth said softly.

I looked back and forth between the two girls, puzzled.

"Annabeth, I have no time for a preamble. I know who has been sending the texts and I know why, I can't tell you now and I'm going to have to be rude to you all day if I don't want her to supsect. Bye!"

And then she was gone.

I turned to Annabeth.

But she, too, was gone.

* * *

**No time for more author's note. I'll add it in the morning! Bye! Oh and I think there's only gonna be 2 more chapters! Please make these count! Sorry if it's rushed. Please REVIEW REVIEW! (Even if you're a guest!) Again, sorry about the horrible ending! I really love you guys and I don't know what I would do without you and fanfiction! I get so sad every time I think of that fact that this is about to end! :( Love ya!**


	33. Meeting (also second to last chapter!)

**Hey guys! Long time, no update, right? I'm so sorry! I've been sick (and still am) and I have standardized testing (exams) coming up, so school is a monster. Can't believe I only have about 30 days left of school. :/ Enough of my lame excuses, though. THIS IS THE SECOND TO LAST CHAPTER! :'( I could just sit down and cry, but instead I decided to update. ;) I have a feeling these last two chapters aren't exactly going to be stellar, but I will try. :( **

**THANK YOU FOR 110 favorites! I can't believe that many people actually like me. I usually scare people off... LOL! And also THANK YOU for 1,422 reviews! You guys are so amazing! Love ya! As always, read, review, and do your thing!**

**HAPPY READING!**

* * *

**Annabeth**

I stared after Rachel for about one second. I hadn't gotten a word she had said. I came to my senses and ran after her, completely forgetting about Percy.

I chased Rachel around the corner.

"Rachel!"

She kept running. I groaned. It was too early in the morning to be running like this!

"I'm getting too old for this kind of labor!" I mumbled to myself. I finally caught up to her in the halls and grabbed her elbow. She turned around and glared at me.

"Annabeth! Jeez, didn't you catch a word I just said?!" she hissed at me.

"Um, no, not really. You were talking really fast and saying some things I don't quite understand," I said sheepishly.

She stared at me for a second. "Percy is seriously rubbing off on you," she stated before grabbing my arm and steering me into a custodian's closet.

Once we were inside, she closed the door and locket it firmly.

"Rachel, you do realize this is a custodian's closet, right?" I exclaimed, wincing as a broom fell, narrowly missing my face.

"It could be Hades's Palace and I still wouldn't care," she said, dead serious. I gulped. The only two people who ever had control over me were Thalia and Rachel. Which was why I was at such a disadvantage when Rachel hated my guts.

"That's nice to know," I said dryly. "Now please get to the point. I'm not a big fan of hanging out in broom closets."

She sighed.

"Okay, listen Annabeth. Drew can't know that we're friends again. You've got to understand that. So basically, we have to act like we still hate each other. I'm gonna be saying some mean stuff to you today if I see you around, but I promise I don't mean a word of it."

I nodded in understanding, but then I frowned.

"Why can't you just tell Drew you're my friend again? If she doesn't like it, that's her problem."

"It's more complicated than that." She hesitated. "I found out some things about Drew... You seriously don't want to mess with her. You in particular. Just try to stay away from her for now on."

"Oh, yeah, because I just _love _her company. What did you find out about her?" I asked curiously.

Again, hesitation.

"I should really tell you, Percy, and your friends all at once. I'll tell you what, why don't I meet you guys down at that old abandoned warehouse down the street? I'll explain everything then, I promise."

"You can't just tell me now?" I asked.

She shook her head. I scowled.

"Fine then. What time?"

"How about five?" she asked.

"Can't. Sue will be home at four thirty," I told her. She met my gaze with a sympathetic look.

"'Kay. Then let's do right after school," she compromised.

I nodded. "Sounds good."

She started to leave. "Oh, and Rachel?" I called before she walked out. She looked back at me expectantly.

"You're never alone. I know things have been hard between us in the past, but I'm really glad that we've got things cleared up between us now. If you ever want to talk about... things, don't hesitate to ask," I said softly.

She looked into my eyes. "Thanks, Annabeth."

And just before she slipped out the door, I saw something glistening on her cheek.

A tear.

* * *

**Percy**

I wandered around for a little bit, looking for Annabeth, but soon gave up and headed to home room. I found the gang and headed back towards them.

Thalia looked up and spotted me coming towards them. She scowled.

"What are _you _doing here?" she spat.

"Well, good morning to you, too. Annabeth and I are friends now," I told her.

She laughed. "Yeah, right. She never told me, so therefore, until she tells me, you had better get away," Thalia responded fiercely.

"Oh, that's nice," I grumbled. Leo gave me a confused look.

"You and Annabeth are good now? How did _that _happen? I mean, you sort of broke her heart and smeared it in her face."

I felt defensive. "Yes, we are friends. How it happened definitely isn't any of your business, and I didn't mean to break her heart. Oh, and I how exactly did I smear it in her face?" I asked him.

Leo just shrugged. "No idea. I just felt like saying that. Sounded dramatic."

I rolled my eyes. "Idiot. Why don't you just join the drama class, then?"

He looked appalled. "Ugh! But Mrs. Fatty Lady Weirdo Face teaches that class! I'm telling you, she looks like a turkey lizard," he said, shivering.

I snorted.

"Leo, there's no such thing as a turkey lizard," Grover pointed out.

"Well, there is now! Besides, if I admit that turkey lizards don't exist - which they do - then you have to admit that Pluto is a planet!"

"Pluto is _not _a planet, Leo! It's been scientifically proven. One, it's path sometime's crosses Neptune's; Pluto's path has more of an oval shape than a round one. Second - "

"Oh, screw science! It always fails you. Science can't prove that demigods exist, which they do."

Grover and Leo continued to bicker back and forth. Nico leaned in towards me.

"Leo watched this _Lightning Thief _movie this weekend. It's about some demigod who has a bunch of bad luck and is accused of stealing Zeus's lightning bolt, but it wasn't really his fault. The movie was terribly done, but now Leo is convinced that demigods really do exist," Nico explained.

"Ah. Why do I even try to understand that kid? And a boy with bad luck? Sounds familiar," I said dryly.

Nico smiled faintly.

I looked over and Thalia was glaring at me stubbornly to get away. I rolled my eyes and walked to the other side of the room with Nico. I hadn't talked to him alone in weeks, and I knew he was always having trouble at home.

"So, I haven't asked you lately: how's life?" I asked him.

He looked down and shrugged.

"Could be better. Mom's still in the hospital and Dad has no time for us, as usual. Nothing new."

He tried to sound nonchalant, but I knew it was fake. What most people didn't know was that Nico used his humor and stupidity to cover up his pain. He's actually a really smart kid.

He and Bianca's mom was in the hospital, because their cousin's dad had tried to kill their mom for who knows what reason. I felt bad that I had been so caught up in my own problems that I had forgotten about his.

"I'm sorry, man. I wish I could help."

He shrugged again. "It's fine. I'm used to it."

I knew that wasn't true. Because I knew from experience and from watching Annabeth that no matter how much you convince yourself that you're used to the pain, you're not. It still catches you off guard, knocks the breath out of you, despite the heavy walls that you built around yourself.

"Hey, why don't we all hang out after school today? Have another boys night out. Or it could just be us," I suggested.

His eyes lit up a little bit.

"Sounds fun. Yeah, let's have all of us. We can all walk home with you."

"Awesome. I'll just have to ask the rest of the guys."

Just then, the door opened and Annabeth walked in, looking breathless. She ran straight over to me.

"Hey, Percy! Hey, Nico. Can you guys go over to Thalia and them? I need to tell all of you something," she said urgently.

I looked at her. "What's wrong?"

"I have no idea."

I shook my head and wrapped my arm around her, leading her to the others. I shot Thalia with a smug look. She scowled.

"I guess he wasn't lying," Piper said when we got there. Annabeth looked confused.

"Thalia thought Percy was lying about you two being friends again," Piper explained. Thalia nudged her hard in the arm.

"Well, thanks, Pipes."

"No problem," she said, smiling sweetly.

"Guys, shut up," Annabeth said, rather sharply. "I need you guys to do something for me."

We all had our attention on her now.

"What's up?"

"After school, can y'all meet me at the warehouse down the street?"

"Sure, why?"

"Because I need to discuss something with all of you and it can't be done here."

"Why?"

"It's about Sue." She was lying. I could see it in her eyes.

"Say no more. We'll meet you then!" Hazel said.

I stepped in. "Nico and I were planning to have all the guys hang out after school this afternoon. After the 'meeting' you might as well just walk home with us."

"Sure. I'll text my parents to ask if I can come."

"Ditto," said Grover.

"Mom won't care either way," mumbled Leo. Poor guy. I guess we all have family troubles.

The bell soon rang and we all headed to our classes, still hanging protectively around Annabeth. She seemed different today. Lightened. And maybe... less weighted? I didn't know how to explain it.

At lunch, everyone confirmed that they were allowed to hang out after school. The rest of the day was pretty uneventful except for one encounter with Rachel and Drew.

We were walking to our lockers at the end of the day when Drew's shoulder smacked right into Annabeth. Right where one of her bruises were. I saw Annabeth bite her lip to keep from crying out.

"Watch it, bitch!" Drew snapped.

"_You _hit _me! _And no need for the crude language," Annabeth responded calmly.

"Um, newsflash, honey! This is highschool. I know that you're too much of a goody to shoes to even go to a PG-13 movie, but guess what? Highschool's rated R. Get over it, wimp." And then she walked away, with Rachel laughing.

"Idiots. Ignore them, Annabeth," I muttered to her. She just shrugged and walked away.

I looked after her with a weird look on my face. She was acting so weird today. So unlike the Annabeth I knew. I could never figure her out completely. With a sigh, I ran after her.

* * *

**Annabeth**

Yes, yes, so now we all know that I was acting weird throughout the day, thanks to Percy.

Anywho, all day I had been trying to figure out how I was going to explain to my friends about Rachel being at the warehouse, because, as far as they knew, we were still enemies.

And they hated her. Just great.

So when the end of the school day came and the bell rang, I somehow managed to escape my friends' careful guarding and run out ahead of them. I rudely shoved past some people. Someone caught my arm. I turned to snap at them, but when I saw who it was, I smiled warmly.

"Hello, Calypso! I never got to properly thank you for watching the boys while I was at the dance." She smiled back.

"It was no problem. I had fun. Minus the whole running out the back door thing," she laughed.

"Yeah, sorry about that."

"It's all good."

"So how's life been?" she asked. She said it casually, like most people would, but I felt like there was an undercurrent in her voice, though I couldn't put my finger on what it was.

"Fine. Just been a little crazy. Yours?"

"Same here. I'm so happy that this is the last week of school before Christmas break!"

I stopped. I had completely forgotten about Christmas. I'd have to spend two whole weeks stuck with Sue and Dad and acting like we're actually a family! Oh joy.

"I know right? It should be nice to get a break from all this schoolwork," I said instead.

"Yeah. I'm hoping to get a new phone. Someone got the number to the one I have right now. Has that ever happened to you? Oh, and my dad figured out how to hack into my phone without putting in the password." She fake shuddered. "Horrifying!"

I laughed. "I would die if my dad saw my messages. And, yeah, that's happened to me before. It sucks." I didn't elaborate, though.

We walked a little more, but then she had to turn a different way.

"Aren't you going to your house?" Calypso asked. I shook my head.

"I'm meeting up with my other friends. See ya later!"

"'Kay, bye!" she called.

I jogged the rest of the way to the warehouse, finally stopping when I was in front of it. I took some deep breaths, and walked in. To my relief, Rachel was already there.

"Hey," she said, looking up as I walked in.

"Hey," I responded.

"Are your friends coming?"

"Yup. But... they don't know you're here. They're gonna flip," I told her. She shrugged.

"That's their problem. If they don't want to find out what I know, then so be it."

I laughed.

"Good job pretending you hate me today. Drew is such an idiot," I commented.

"No kidding," Rachel muttered. I looked at her in surprise. "I thought you and her were friends." She shrugged.

"I guess. More like friendly rivals or something. I, personally, don't really like Drew that much. Especially after what I found out about her."

"Care to elaborate?" I pressed.

She smiled slightly. "When everyone else gets here."

And right on cue, my friends started flowing in. Leo came in alongside Jason and Piper. Hazel, Frank, and Thalia walked in soon after with Nico and Bianca trailing behind. I waited anxiously until Percy walked in, with his self-confident stride.

He smiled warmly and walked right over, giving me a big hug. I squeezed in back.

At first, no one noticed Rachel, who was in the corner going through her bag. Then Thalia froze.

"What is _she _doing here?" Thalia spat venomously.

I stepped forward. "It's okay, Thalia. Just let me explain."

But Thalia didn't even appear to hear me. She went towards Rachel, glaring.

"Get. Out. Now."

Rachel looked back with a defiant look in her eyes, but then they flickered over to me with a look that clearly said, _Help!_

"Thalia, I know you don't like me, but I have some important things you guys need to know regarding Drew and Sue, and other people as well."

Thalia laughed humorlessly. "Idiot! We all know that you're friends with Drew, so why the heck do you think we would trust you?"

I put a hand on Thalia's shoulder.

"Thalia, that's enough," I said quietly. She turned to me, eyes flashing.

"You don't seriously believe her, do you?! Are you _insane?! _You hate her, remember!"

"Thalia, I know it used to be like that, but we talked and came to an... understanding," I said cautiously.

"An _understanding?_" Thalia exclaimed incredulously. "Since when have you and her _understood _each other? I didn't know that was possible."

I looked at Rachel, asking a silent question: _Can I?_

She nodded.

"Rachel understands what I've been through," I said quietly, my voice barely above a whisper. Rachel looked down, pretending to be looking for something, but I knew she just didn't want to look at anybody. I knew it was hard for her.

"How could she possibly - oh."

Thalia looked back and forth between me and Rachel, comprehension, and maybe even a little guilt, clouding her eyes. Her face softened. Thalia is a good person. Good enough to know that even the worst people don't deserve abuse. Good enough to feel bad for Rachel. And, hopefully, good enough to forgive her.

Percy, who stood beside me, squeezed my hand gently telling me that he, too, understood.

We all stood there in silence for a moment. Hazel was the first to speak.

"Rachel," she began softly. "I'm not going to say 'I'm sorry' because I know that doesn't change anything, and I'm not going to say that I understand, because I don't. But I do want to say, that I hope we can all forget about our misgivings, and that if you ever want to talk, I'm here and I'm sure everyone else agrees."

She walked forward and gave Rachel a small hug. At first, Rachel looked shocked. Her face held a look of disbelief, as though she couldn't figure out why anyone would be this kind to her after all she had done.

Immediately, I felt a surge of pride for Hazel and all my friends. They were such good people. They were always there for you, always gave, always trusted, and always forgave people when asked. I couldn't be apart of a better group.

I watched as Piper broke away from everyone else, soon followed by Bianca, and also gave Rachel a small hug. Leo slowly stepped forward and shook her hand, patting her on the back, as Nico strode over and shyly did the same.

Soon, we were all converged on her, until only Thalia remained. I looked anxiously at her. Her face was guarded.

But, suddenly, her face completely softened, her locks broke, and she, too, stepped forward.

Finally, we were all together again. One big piece, just like we used to be in fourth grade. Except for one new piece. I looked up at him and he smiled softly at me in turn.

I wish we could have stood like that forever, but eventually, we all pulled apart.

"Okay, so now we need to get to business," Thalia said gruffly.

All eyes turned to me and Rachel.

"You first," I said. "You called the meeting in the first place."

"Fair enough." She looked around at everybody. "So you all know how my uncle's a cop, right?"

We nodded.

"Well, for once, I was able to use that to my advantage."

* * *

**Ew, that chapter dragged. I'm so sorry guys! But the next chapter (the LAST one) will be a big filler. I'm drugged up on DayQuil. Ugh, those pills are huge. I'll take Advil any day. Am I the only one that thinks Advil tastes good? I mean, like when you let it sit on your tongue for a second. Okay, I'ma just stop talking, er, typing, because I feel like a I'm getting a lot of strange virtual looks.**

**So, I'm debating whether I should go see The Sea of Monsters when it comes out, but the first PJO movie sucked, in my opinion so...**

**I have a new poll on my profile page! Would you guys go be a darling and check it out?! Thanks!**

**Again, sorry for the boring chapter. I know, I know, I'm being a pessimist again, but I can't help it! I haven't ridden a horse in almost a month! My fellow riding companions out there understand my pain, I'm sure. ;)**

**I know I'm behind on PMs, but my computer doesn't always work. But I just figured out that I can get on my email at school (but not fanfiction) so that's when I read my PMs (as long as the teacher's not looking. I could get suspended). But I will try to answer all PMs whenever possible, so don't hesitate to PM me! If you're having a hard time, so am I! My life is full of crap, but talk to me! I love to help! :)**

**Please review! (Especially if you're a guest!) This is only the second to last time you will ever be able to do so for this story! :( Make the most of it! Thank you for reading! Love you guys! And remember: cheese is evil! (inside joke from 'Invisible' on my joint account ;)**


	34. Happily Ever After Sort Of

**WAHHHHHHH! Last chapter! I think I'm gonna die. Anywho, (yes, I know that was really bipolar) I decided that I will probably go see the Sea of Monsters just to make fun of it. I could use a good laugh. I kinda had a rough day. **

**I can't believe this is it. This story was published on December 31, 2012. And now it's ending today on April 5, 2013. :( I love you guys! Would y'all pretty please be so kind as to give me one last review? Whether you've always reviewed, or never have, it would mean so much to me if you did! Love ya!**

**A final disclaimer: I do not own PJO. But I do own Harry Potter! ... I wish. No I don't own either, otherwise I would have two million dollars instead of just two dollars.**

**Oh, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY to **NerdyOwlLover (guest)**! I'm sorry I couldn't update yesterday on your real birthday, but your idea was magnificent and I'm so gonna use it! **

**HA****PPY READING!**

* * *

**Annabeth**

We all listened to Rachel with rapt attention, our eyes never leaving her.

"So here's the thing; ever since I was little, I've been able to hack into computers, pick locks, sneak around - things like that. I guess it runs in the family," she said.

We all nodded to show we understood, and she continued.

"Anwhyo, after me and Annabeth's detention, I ran into Drew. I remembered what Annabeth had told me about her getting those strange texts, and my intuition had been setting me off since Annabeth told me. So - "

"Wait, wait, wait! Hold up! What texts?" Percy demanded.

I cringed. I had completely forgotten that I hadn't told him.

"It's nothing," I tried to protest, but he wouldn't have it.

"Annabeth." He glared at me.

"It's nothing!" I insisted.

"Show me," was all me said. I shook my head. He would completely freak.

I probably should have anticipated Thalia's move, but, unfortunately, I didn't. Quick as lightning, she dug her hand into my jacket pocket, and stole my phone, grinning triumphantly. I jumped up.

"Thalia, give it back!" I yelled. She shook her head, grinning mischievously.

"You'll have to come and get it!"

And the next thing I knew, I was chasing her around the room like a five-year old. It would have been fun had it not been under these circumstances. Thalia ran past Percy and tossed it to him. He caught it swiftly.

I gave Thalia a death glare. She at least had the good grace to look ashamed, even though I knew she wasn't. So I kept glaring. She stuck her tongue out at me.

I growled and turned to Percy, who was now scrolling through my phone.

I watched his face, knowing that his expression would give it all away. We all sat in silence as he read the messages, his eyes growing hard, his mouth pressed into a tight line. He was appalled. Can't say I blamed him.

"WHO - ?"

But Rachel quickly cut him off as I sent her a helpless look.

"That's what we're trying to figure out. And I think I have an idea as to who has been sending her those texts."

"Care to elaborate?" Percy asked in a tight voice.

"Oooh, let me see, let me see!" Nico said like a child at the zoo trying to see the giraffes. I groaned. Percy passed the phone to Nico and everyone read the messages while Percy walked back over to me. I scowled.

"You didn't tell me." It was a statement. Not a question.

"No," I agreed. "I did not tell you."

"Why?" he asked.

I shrugged. "I guess I was kinda scared. I knew you'd be upset." He hugged me. Once again, I couldn't figure out why I had ever mistrusted him. Percy was like a knight in shining armor. I wondered who that made me.

"Okay, guys! Do you guys want to hear what I found out, or are we all just going to sit around blubbering for the rest of the evening?" Rachel snap. I smiled slightly. Always feisty. I guess that's why me and her could either be the best of friends or the greatest enemies.

Everyone turned their attention back to Rachel.

"So, as I was _saying_," she threw a reproachful look towards Percy, "I ran into Drew, and she talked about the usual pointless gossip. We hung out around the school for a little bit; she mostly flirted with the football players who were staying after school for practice. At one point, she left all of her stuff on the bench next to me while she went of to talk to Michael Smith on the team. I sorta noticed that her phone was there, and I knew she didn't like Annabeth so..."

She left it hanging. I saw Leo grin as he got the gist of what Rachel had done next.

"So it was Drew?" Nico asked eagerly. Rachel hesitated.

"Sort of."

"How could she 'sort of' do it?" Piper asked curiously.

"Well, that's the thing. You're not going to believe this. Well, actually, you might. While she was talking, I hacked into her phone - can you believe that her password was 'Hermy', the name of her dog? - and checked through her inbox to see if she had any messages sent to Annabeth's number."

"And were there?" Bianca asked.

"No," Rachel said simply. I was shocked. If Drew hadn't sent them, then who had?

"What?!" everyone yelped, clearly taken aback. But Rachel held up her hand.

"Hold on, I wasn't finished yet. I read through some of her recent messages to people, and I saw Calypso's name. I was curious, because, as far as I know, Calypso's not friends with Drew."

I felt a stone drop in my stomach. I had a feeling...

"So, of course, I read them," Rachel said matter of factly.

"Well, what did they say?" I demanded. She bent down and took a folder out of her bag.

"I forwarded all the messages to my phone, and then when I got home, I hooked my phone up to my computer and printed the messages out," she said, looking pleased with herself. I smiled at her. I had forgotten how smart she was. We used to call ourselves daughters of Athena when we were little.

She passed me the paper, and I read the messages aloud.

"Um, Drew sent the first message. It said, 'Hello.' And Calypso replied, 'Who is this?' Drew said, 'Darth Vader. *rolls eyes sarcastically* It's Drew.'" I paused.

"Wow, Drew actually has somewhat of a sense of humor?! I'm shocked!" Thalia said. "Continue."

I nodded. "After that, Calypso responded with, 'What do you want?' And Drew said, 'No need to be touchy. I just need a favor done, and I think you're the perfect person to do it.' After that, Calypso said, 'Not interested," to which Drew responded with, 'I don't think you're really in much of a position to refuse.'" I looked up for a second.

Everyone appeared to be thinking hard. So far, it seemed as though Drew was blackmailing Calypso into doing something.

I continued. "'What do you mean?' Calypso said. Drew then typed, 'You know exactly what I mean. And if you think I wouldn't tell everyone your secret, then just try me and see what happens.'" I groaned. No more secrets, please! It seemed as though every time I found a new piece to the puzzle, another one went missing.

"I wonder what Calypso's secret is? She's always seemed so sweet and quiet," Piper mused.

"Well, sometimes people aren't exactly what they seem on the outside. Ever heard of the saying 'Sick of crying, tired of trying, yeah I'm smiling, but inside I'm dying'?" Hazel commented, glancing over at me and Rachel. I smiled at her. It was almost impossible not to love Hazel, but it was easy to forget how observative she could be.

"True. Anywho, after that, Calypso sent a horrified texting face and Drew said, 'I thought so. Now let's get down to business. I'ma get straight to the point. I'm going to need you to send Annabeth mean texts with things saying that she needs to kill herself and that no one would care if she died and stuff.'"

I tried not to spit out the words as I read them. Percy tightened his arms encouragingly around me, so I kept reading, avoiding everyone else's eyes.

"Calypso said, 'But I would NEVER tell Annabeth that!' Gee, that's nice to know. And then Drew said, 'Well, too bad, because now you will. Do it on some days after school around the time of home room or when she gets home. And if you don't...' Calypso then said, 'Fine. I will. I have to go now.' And that was the last of it, except for the really recent ones from Drew asking Calypso if she had sent me the texts and whatnot."

For a minute, we all sat in a contemplative silence. We were all pretty shocked that Calypso, of all people, would send those texts to me. And I must say, I felt pretty hurt. I had always thought of her has a sweet, kind girl - someone I could trust.

Rachel took another sheet of paper out.

"This is where having an uncle whose a cop comes in handy. I simply told him that I was concerned about a kid at our school - aka Drew - and he easily got the records out for me. It took some coaxing, of course, but I got it eventually. Anyway, I think you should see this for yourself, Annabeth."

She handed it to me, a strange look in her eyes. Was it... pity? Percy kept his arms around me, and rested his head on my shoulder, looking at the paper over my shoulder.

It had her birth date, age height, weight, etc. And then my eyes landed on it.

Her birth parents.

Her birth _mother._

Sue.

I read and reread the name over and over. I could feel slight panic rising within me. Sue simply could not be Drew's mother. Drew simply could not be my step sister. But the words on the form contradicted me.

Then, I started to tremble. It started out as a low thud in my fingertips, until it spread, pounding throughout my whole body, until deep tremors shook me.

Percy's arms tightened around me. He had finally seen it.

"Annabeth," he said softly, steadying me.

"What is it?" Thalia demanded. Percy gently took the paper from my hands, and handed it to her and they passed it around.

"Annabeth," Percy repeated, crouching down in front of me.

"All this time," I whispered. "All this time. I don't understand. I mean, I knew that Drew's birth parents were divorced, but I never would have thought, Drew's mom was..."

"Shhh, I know, Annabeth. It's gonna be okay," Percy said, soothingly rubbing my back.

"So that's why Drew hates me so much? Because she feels like I stole her mom? Well, she can have Sue back."

I leaned into Percy, burying my face into his chest and breathing in his scent. I associated it with safe, warm places. I could the everyone's reactions as they read the paper.

Everything was just too much. It was just too much to take in. I felt a wave of hysteria rising in me. Drew was my step sister. No way. As it always did when I was anxious or upset, my hand flew to my neck, only to find it bare.

A tear slid down my cheek, but it was soon soaked up by Percy's shirt. Everyone got up and gathered around me, offering their support. Okay, so maybe I was overreacting, but, honestly, how would you feel in my situation?

I don't know how long we all stood there, us golden group of friends, a family, until it was only Percy and I standing alone outside the warehouse.

I watched the sun set around me, getting ready to plunge the world into darkness. When I was little, I used to be scared when the sun set, because I would always wonder if it would rise again.

Percy studied me.

"Are you okay?" he asked softly.

"I... I honestly don't know. I guess it's a lot to take in," I said.

"I know. I'm so sorry. I wish I could help," he said. I grabbed his hand.

"Hey. Don't say that. You always help."

"How?"

"Because you are simply there for me. You're there when no one else is. Nothing else is okay - not my family, not me, not my life - but we are. And that's more than enough to keep me standing," I told him.

He looked at me intently for a moment, and then slipped something into my hand. It felt like cold metal. It was a chain.

I brought my hand up, and examined what he had given me. The object tingled in my hand, providing me with a warmth I hadn't felt before. It made me feel whole again.

It was my mom's locket.

I looked up at him. I hadn't forgotten about the locket - only that he was the one who had it.

"How did you know?"

"The picture."

I stared at him. "I was young in that picture. And you're such a Seaweed Brain. There's no way you figured it out on the picture alone," I said skeptically.

He rolled his eyes. "Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence. But you're right," he admitted sheepishly. "I just... I put the pieces together. Your hand kept straying to your neck, the girl in the picture looked like she could be you, and the girl I danced with at the ball acted exactly like you."

He stared into my eyes. "_You _are my mystery girl."

I smiled. "So it would seem. I guess it took you long enough." He laughed. Then, he took the locket from me and swiftly clasped it around my neck.

I felt whole again.

"Open it," Percy said softly. I looked at him, perplexed.

"Open it," he urged.

So with trembling fingers, I opened the locket, and inside, I found another picture.

His green eyes, which even in a picture held so much feeling, stared back at me.

"Now, you'll always have a piece of me with you," he said quietly. Silent tears streamed down my face.

"Oh, Percy. I love you." I pressed myself as close to him as I could, and he wrapped his hands around waist gently.

And there we were, kissing in the sunset, just like a fairytale.

Once again, I flashed back to the memory of watching Cinderella with my parents, wondering if I would ever be like Cinderella and find my true love and live happily ever after.

But now I think that I've been looking at this all wrong, and perhaps Disney has been, too. I believe that happiness has more than one level. It's never black or white. It's never either you're sad or you're happy. And happiness is never simply forever.

Because while I was content right now, when I got home, I knew I would be upset with Sue. But at the same time, just knowing that my friends were with me was enough to keep me going.

There was always going to be a part of me that was upset with my life, but always another part that was content with it.

So I guess you could call it halfway happily ever after. Percy was my knight in rusted armor, and I would be Cinderella with a tattered dress.

I wasn't okay with Drew, or Sue, or my family. But I was content with Percy and my friends. And right here, right now with Percy, I wouldn't want to be anything other than halfway happy.

I guess you could say that we lived happily ever after...

Sort of.

* * *

**I just let a whole lot of people down. I beyond loath this chapter, but maybe I'll get lucky and you guys will like it, but I had to set it up for the sequel. The ending was probably really confusing, but it made so much more sense in my head (doesn't it always?). I am so sorry.**

**And now, for the important part.**

**THANK YOU! Thank you to everyone who reviewed, read, followed, or favorited this story! Just the fact that you've taken the time to read it means the world to me! I love you guys so, so much, and this story has become a huge part of me. I am literally crying right now because it is over. I feel like you guys are family. And I suppose that's what we are - a fanfiction family.**

**Thank you for allowing me to get 84,000 views! Thank you to the people who hate me and my story, because you only provided fuel for me to keep going and prove myself. I went through so much writing this story. Family problems, friendship problems, computer problems! Yet you guys kept pushing me, supporting me and now here I am. You guys stayed with me, and words will never be able to say how much that's meant to me.**

**I will be working on a lot of my other stories now. I just got off for Spring Break, so I have a whole week to write! :D I'll have information about the sequel soon!**

**Even if this story is done, I will always appreciate reviews and more people reading it. Again, I feel bad for the bad ending, but I tried. :( Also, sorry for my pessimism. I naturally tend to think the worst of myself. I love you guys! So maybe give me one last review? Just one more! It's not that hard; just type in the box below! Make this last chapter count. Thank you!**

**Love you!**

**-HCG13 x**


	35. Sequel Info (Author's Note)

**Hey guys! Wow, it's been awhile, hasn't it? I am so sincerely sorry! My only two excuses are I've been really sick (and over my Spring Break, no less) and I've had really terrible writer's block.**

**I honestly can't believe it, because I almost never get extremely sick. And then the second school's out, I do. My mom took me to this wratched emergency clinic. The doctor I got was WEIRD! And RUDE! I got so ticked. He wanted to put me on antibiotic, steroids, Zyrtec, and something else that I can't remember. I weigh 81 pounds. The medicine that he put me on would literally kill me if I took all that at once. I'm telling you, these people are out to get me...**

**Sorry, I had to get my frustration about that out. ;)**

**I literally had no idea how I was going to pull off the first chapter of the sequel to this. While I was lying in my bed, I kept thinking, but I just couldn't come up with a good way to start it.**

**Anywho, after hanging out with my friend, and reading Harry Potter books 3 and 4, I think I'm ready to write again.**

**I have decided to call the sequel to this story 'Breaking Free'. Yes, yes, it's extremely lame (as my friend so kindly pointed out) but I always incorporate my title into the summary, and I already have the summary mostly written out in my head. And I think the title will make sense at the end of the story. But, by all means, if you think you have a better title, don't hesitate to tell me!**

**And for the even bigger news!**

***I'm posting the sequel TODAY! When? TODAY! I repeat: TODAY!* Lol, that was overly dramatic.**

**I actually haven't completely finished writing it, so it may not be posted until a few hours, maybe less. But I really wanted to go ahead and tell everyone that it IS coming! I'll try to have it done within the next hour, maybe two. No promises!**

**But yeah, since I'm actually managing to annoy the crap out of myself (which means I'm probably definitely annoying you) I'm gonna end the incredibly long, and very pointless author's note! ;)**

**Oh, and I apologize to anyone who thought this would be another chapter!**

**And one more thing: THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL THE SUPPORT! I got over 100 reviews for the last chapter! And we are so close to 100,000 views! Again, you guys are truly amazing and beautiful - each and every one of you! THANK YOU!**

**-HCG13 **

**P.S. Could I pretty please get some more votes to the poll on my profile page? They would be loved! Thanks, guys!**


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